


Fighting Destiny

by AliceFromWonderland



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Arthur Pendragon Returns, BAMF Merlin, Banter, Battle of Hogwarts, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bromance, But More Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Complete, Epic Bromance, Friendship, Gen, Good versus Evil, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Hogwarts Fourth Year, Immortal Merlin, Minor Original Character(s), Season/Series 05 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-03
Updated: 2015-09-08
Packaged: 2018-01-21 18:25:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 51,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1559801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceFromWonderland/pseuds/AliceFromWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin had been living in the Crystal Cave for centuries when destiny called. Disguised as a sixth year student, he went to Hogwarts to watch over Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament and to wait for Voldemort's rebirth. However, during the second task his cover was unexpectedly destroyed by certain prat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Second Task

**Author's Note:**

> The story has been checked by 1DarkPhoenix1(https://www.fanfiction.net/u/3913777/). She's the loveliest person ever :)

The day was rather cloudy. Cold wind ran through his coat, making him tremble. He was standing behind the students, who gathered around barriers of the platforms, silently watching the second task in the Triwizard Tournament. The spectators around were quiet as well, talking to each other in low voices. They were waiting for one of the participants to show, alone or with their friend from under the lake. People were growing nervous after Dumbledore's statement about the failure of Fleur Delacour.

Merlin couldn't see either Ron or Hermione, so he assumed they had to be a part of the task. It was cruel to make Harry choose between his closest friends. However, Gillyweed was a smart idea; it gave the boy a high probability of winning. The former manservant smiled softly as he thought to himself that he would have done the same, but the smile quickly faded. The warlock was worried and he wanted nothing more but everyone to be fine.

Merlin had been really happy that he hadn't had to help during the first task with the dragons. The thought of keeping dragons as pets made him sick, but he couldn't do anything about it, not yet. It was still too early for everyone to know who he really was and he hated it. Instead, the warlock promised himself that he would release them later.

After Arthur's death he didn't go back to Camelot. Using magic, Merlin had sent a letter to Gaius and Gwen, but he couldn't find strength to face them, not after his failure. He had stayed near the Avalon Lake for a week before the knights found him. They informed him that the Queen had lifted the ban on magic and wanted him as a Court Sorcerer, but he refused. Camelot would only remind him of what he had lost.

He had watched over his best friend's grave for years, building a small hut nearby to live in. The knights sometimes visited him, but without Gwaine and Arthur it wasn't the same. Merlin felt empty, like without his magic, only a thousand times worse. Protecting Arthur had been the purpose of his life. Without the King, he was… nothing.

It took him five years to notice that he wasn't aging. Remembering the last words of Kilgarrah, he understood that he was meant to wait for Arthur to come back, however long it took. It was a curse, but he deserved it. He deserved worse than that. After all, he was the reason for Arthur's death. However, he aged himself magically to hide it from his family and friends so that they wouldn't worry.

Unsurprisingly, Gaius died first. Hunith was next, two years later, due to an illness incurable even by magic. Percival died a year after Merlin's mother, having been wounded during battle. One month later Leon was shot by an arrow. Gwen was last of his friends to die; she lived ten years longer than her husband, but then she was poisoned. The Queen died childless and the war for Camelot's throne began. No one won, but the kingdom was destroyed because of it.

Merlin doubted he would be able to look Arthur in the face when he came back. He had heard about the falling of Camelot when it was too late to do anything. He felt like he failed once again.

Everyone Merlin had cared about was gone. He changed himself into Dragoon and left the Lake, moving into the Crystal Cave, where he could watch over the world from afar. Not long after that, Four Founders set up a school near the Lake. Arthur was well guarded, even without Merlin there.

He wandered around the world for a while, alone. He met people, gathered knowledge. He never stayed in a one place for long though. Remembering his failures too well, he didn't let himself help even once after the falling of Camelot. It didn't matter how much he wanted to, his fear kept him in the shadows.

When Voldemort appeared and began the purge of the mudbloods, the warlock knew he would have to do something, but it was not time to yet. He waited anxiously for thirteen years until the crystals showed him the future for the first time in centuries. He saw the scene at the graveyard where Voldemort was going to be reborn and he knew he had to listen and interfere.

So Merlin wrote a letter to the headmaster, asking to join the sixth year at Hogwarts. He told Dumbledore that he had been homeschooled before. Being at Hogwarts was the best way to prevent the rebirth of the Dark Lord, as some called him, and not let him to destroy the Balance of Life and Death. And here he was, pretending to be an average Hufflepuff, being taught things he had known for centuries, and trying to hide in the shadows until the time was right.

The appearance of Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang returned Merlin to reality. A few moments later Victor Krum and Hermione also showed themselves.

Next arrived Ron and Fleur's sister, with Harry jumping out just after them. Everyone cheered and Merlin breathed deeply with relief. No one was hurt.

 

*********

 

The students went back to the coast in boats; the ones that normally transported first years to the castle. The cold wind chilled their bones once again. They were about to go back inside to warm themselves when a sudden flow of magic almost made Merlin faint. It was coming from the Lake. Others seemed to feel it too, because they stopped and turned around. Merlin, still facing toward the school, saw the shock appearing on their faces and the widening of their eyes. Slowly, he turned around _._

A figure appeared at the surface, walking on water towards them. For a moment Merlin thought it was Freya and mentally cursed her for blowing his cover. But then he looked closer and saw a weak light reflecting from a chainmail, a red cape falling from wide shoulders. _Impossible._ The figure walked towards them and with every step Merlin was more and more sure that he was dreaming. Before he had even realized that he was moving, he was standing in the Lake, freezing water going through his shoes and wetting his feet.

Arthur was now so close that Merlin could reach him with his arm.

"What is it, _Mer_ lin? Is it the way you're going to greet your king?" He was smiling, like they were on a hunting trip again and Merlin had just told a joke. Like nothing had happened. Anger rose in Merlin.

He had often imagined his reunion with the King. He had imagined the relief he would feel, the joy and hope. He had imagined himself laughing, crying, hugging the other half of his coin. Now Arthur was standing before him at last, all alive and well, and it wasn't going anything like how Merlin had imagined.

He didn't hug Arthur. He didn't drop to his knees begging for forgiveness.

Instead he slapped him. Hard. The water behind him mimicked his movement and a great wave went through the entire Lake. He was buzzing with anger and magic alike. His wards, which covered his true power, disappeared. He was radiating magic. It cracked on his skin like electricity.

"How dare you?! How dare you die on me?! Leave me?!" He felt hot tears stain his cheeks. "I have waited for you, for centuries! Can you even imagine how I felt?"

Arthur looked scared and ashamed. It calmed Merlin's anger a bit.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, I truly am." Arthur's eyes softened, reading between Merlin's words like he was an open book. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't fail, do you understand? You couldn't do anything. Neither about my death nor Camelot's fall." Merlin gasped at the king's last words. Tears streamed from the warlock's eyes, even more than they had before.

"Yeah, did you think I would leave such a clumsy fool alone without keeping an eye on him? I watched you from Avalon and wished I could come back. I'm sorry I didn't return faster."

All of Merlin's previous anger faded. Finally, he hugged Arthur. Half of him expected that his fingers would meet air; that Arthur was only a dream, a cruel joke of his mind, but his friend was real. He had come back. Finally.

Their moment of reunion was interrupted by Harry, Ron and Hermione. The witch cleared his throat and when they broke apart she asked, "Marvin, who's that?"

"This is Arthur. He is…" His explanation was interrupted by Ron.

"Merlin's beard, you just came of a lake?" Arthur stared at him for a moment and then started laughing wildly. Merlin frowned. Ron looked confused. "What? What did I say?"

Arthur tried to calm himself. "I'm sorry. It's just, it's just…haha…Merlin's…ha…Merlin's…"

Finally, he managed to stop laughing. "I'm sorry. I just didn't expect this." He looked at his friend. "Did they call you Marvin? Why?"

"We're pretty well known, you know. I can't just walk around claiming that I'm the most powerful warlock to ever live!"

The teens looked shocked. "You mean…"

"Sorry, I should introduce us _properly_." The King gave his former servant a death glare. "I'm Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon, former king of Camelot and this is my manservant and friend, Merlin. He waited for me to return from death in the time of the greatest need. And here I am."

They paled and Ron looked like he was going to faint. Merlin sighed, "Maybe we should go inside and I will explain everything."

The others nodded and they slowly began to walk towards Hogwarts. After few minutes of silence Arthur asked, "Merlin, what are we dealing with?"

"Oh, the rebirth of an evil sorcerer who claims to be the most powerful one ever. He wants to become immortal and conquer both the magical and non-magical worlds."

"So the usual?"

They both grinned. The coin was whole at last.


	2. Merlin's Demons

Arthur followed Merlin, Harry, Ron and Hermione into the castle. It was big, almost as big as Camelot's higher town. It was also magnificent. However, Arthur could clearly see that Hogwarts wasn't built for defense. Its walls were too thin, towers too high, windows too big. The list was long. It was obvious to him that the building wouldn't survive an enemy's attack unless helped by magic.

They entered a hall and headed to the 'headmaster's office' as Merlin called it. Arthur had only a vague idea what that was but he suspected that there would be someone who was in charge. The warlock told the students that he would explain everything, but only with the headmaster there, as he deserved to know what was going on in his school.

They walked in silence. The teens were too absorbed in sending the king and his servant suspicious glances. It was obvious that they didn't believe their story. Merlin was walking next to Arthur. The warlock was deep in his thoughts and memories. A shadow of a smile was dancing on his lips. Arthur, for the first time since his return, had a moment to look closer at his friend. Merlin didn't look any older than he had when he had come to Camelot centuries before. His hair was as dark as it always had been, though a bit longer now; it covered his eyebrows and big ears. He wore a long dark robe and, to Arthur's big surprise, he had a yellow-black tie instead of his usual neckerchief.

The only trace of his actual age was in his eyes. They had the same familiar shade of blue sky on a winter's day, but they were ancient now. The king could clearly see the weight of centuries reflecting in them. If Arthur hadn't watched Merlin through the ages, the eyes of his friend would tell him everything. However, the sparks of hope and joy had lit within them since the blonde had appeared. It gave the royal hope that the wounds in his soul made by guilt and loneliness would heal in time, even if they would leave scars.

Suddenly, Harry, Ron and Hermione stopped before the massive statue of a griffin. Apparently, they had arrived to their destination. The griffin brought back bad memories, but Arthur concentrated on reality. He couldn't afford sinking into the past, not yet at least. Harry said something and the statue moved aside revealing stone steps. The teens rushed up them without second thought. The former king and manservant hesitantly went after them. Soon, the knocking echoed in the corridor, followed by "Come in" from the office. The red-headed wizard opened the doors and they entered the room.

The office was spacious but cozy at the same time. Shelves full of books and magical artifacts took up more space than anything else. On the walls hung portraits of sleeping people, but when Arthur looked closer he noticed that they were moving; taking breaths and some of them snoring. It was weird but it wasn't the weirdest thing he had seen in his live, it really was nothing compared to his once-donkey ears or troll almost-stepmother.

Behind a wooden desk stood a tall man with a long white beard and white hair. He had glasses on his nose and wore a long light robe and a strange hat. He was smiling politely. When he saw Arthur his smile wavered a little, showing confusion, but a moment later it widened even more.

"Good afternoon, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Marvin. Who is your friend?"

Arthur wanted to answer but Merlin sent him a _I-will-take-care-of-it-so-shut-up_ glare, "I am afraid it's a bit complicated. Firstly, I have to apologize for lying to you, professor. I made up the story of being a homeschooled wizard. And my name isn't Marvin," The Headmaster looked at him, his eyes demanding more information.

"It will be difficult to believe me but I ask you to try. I'm sure I will sound like an insane person but I can prove you that I'm telling the truth,"The manservant took a deep breath before continuing, "My real name is Merlin and this is King Arthur," The next words rushed from his mouth quickly before anyone could interrupt him.

"I have been alive this whole time; living alone and waiting for Arthur to rise again. At the beginning of the year I decided to involve myself after a vision I had. It was about the third Triwizard's task. During it Voldemort will return and I cannot let that happen," The warlock looked around. Shock was painted all over the headmaster's face. He looked stunned by the information as did the Golden Trio. After a few moments the old man sighed, "How do I know that you are telling the truth?"

Before he could answer, Harry burst out, "Did you feel that rush of power? It was him."

"It was great magic, but I could do something similar. It proves only that he is powerful."

"Ach, sorry about that. I lost control and some of my magic slipped."

"Some? It wasn't your whole power?!" Ron hissed.

"About half. Maybe a third. Or less? Anyway…"Merlin averted his eyes to his king, "Give me your sword," Arthur hesitated but he did it. Then Merlin passed the blade to Albus. The professor examined Excalibur carefully and gave it back to the blonde. Something changed in his expression, "This sword was made with an ancient magic and was forged in a dragon's breath. I have seen something like it only once before, in the Department of Mysteries. It was named 'a piece of Mordred's blade'. I believe you," The teens relaxed. Merlin hadn't realized that they had been tense before. They hadn't believed them, but now, after professor's declaration, they took his words as truth. The trust they had in Dumbledore amazed the warlock.

"I owe you some explanations. Should I tell you the whole story of Camelot or just the basic information?"

Sparks of curiosity lit Hermione's eyes. She blushed, "The whole story, if you could," Merlin smiled at her to give her some courage. They knew who he was and it was obvious that it intimidated and overwhelmed them. The former servant hoped that in time they would stop treating him like a hero and would see a human being instead. He sighed, "Shall we sit first?" Dumbledore conjured chairs and they all sat down.

"Ok, but I will have to cut the story short or it would take us a few nights. Before I start I have to warn you that most of things you think you know about Camelot are false. The history was written by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who just loved drama. Through the ages the story was twisted even more, now it is barely recognizable," He stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Centuries ago, in Camelot there lived a king. He was fair and just, his people loved him. He cared about his land greatly. He ruled alongside his beautiful wife, whose name was…"

"Guinevere? Was it King Arthur?" Ron's cheeks were colored with excitement. Hermione hushed him.

"No, it wasn't. It will be simpler if you stop interrupting me. The king's name was Uther Pendragon and his wife was called Ygraine. They loved each other very much but they couldn't have a child so they turned to a powerful sorceress, Nimueh, and asked for her help. She agreed and not long after the queen was pregnant and gave a birth to a boy. Her son was named Arthur. However, the sorceress didn't inform the pair about the price. You see, ancient magic was different than this new kind. You could do anything with it, but you had to give back something of equal value to the Old Religion. Nimueh gave the child life and so a life was required back. Ygraine died. The king couldn't come to terms with it. He was consumed by grief and anger and wanted something to blame. He found his enemy in magic. Uther banned it from his country on penalty of death. Under his command hundreds of sorcerers were burned at the pyre. He slayed all dragons save one, whom he locked under the castle. He killed the Dragonlords, people with ability to command dragons but with a different kind of magic than sorcerers. Only one of them, his friend, named Balinor managed to run away. Later these events were called 'The Great Purge'."

"Balinor ran away to a small village at the border called Ealdor. There he met a woman, Hunith. They fell in love, but soon Balinor had to run again, leaving his lover behind. He didn't know that she was with child. Nine months later a boy was born. Hunith named him Merlin. The boy had magic, unusual magic. Old Religion required years of studying to learn spells, but I didn't need to study. Magic came to me through the force of my will. My mother told me that I used it before I was even two months old."

"Does that mean that you're actually younger than the king?" Hermione's surprise was obvious.

"Yeah, about a year younger. I guess everyone knows me as an old man because I sometimes disguised myself as such so I wouldn't be discovered."

"Anyway, I lived with my mother until I was seventeen. Then my best friend saw me doing magic. My mum decided that Ealdor wasn't safe for me anymore and sent me to Camelot to my uncle, Gaius. He was a Court Physician and had practiced magic before the Purge. He helped me to take control of my magic. I was meant to be his apprentice, but I saved Arthur's life and Uther made me his manservant."

"Servant?! _You_ were a _servant_?!" Ron exclaimed, finding it hard to believe.

"Hush! I want to finish the story before midnight. Yes, Ron, I was a servant and a bad one, too. Arthur and I hated each other at first, but as time went by and we saved each other again and again, our arguments became banter. We became friends; though we would have never admitted that. I already knew about my destiny back then, but I didn't help Arthur because of it, but because I thought that he would be a great king."

"And then you told him about your magic?"

"God, no! I wish I did but I was, I _am_ a coward. I don't mind going into a battle or sacrificing myself for my friends. My greatest fear, besides not managing to save someone I hold dear, is being rejected. I had lied to Arthur for the ten years I'd known him. We faced thousands of enemies, both magical and non-magical. I had always tried to protect him from his destiny and ironically it doomed us both," He took deep, shaking breath.

"My friend Morgana, the king's ward and Arthur's half sister, was a witch too. She was terrified about it. I didn't help her though and she turned against us. Then I poisoned her. It was the only choice, it was her or Camelot, but that doesn't change the fact that I did it. After that she became Camelot's greatest enemy," Merlin choked with the last word. After a moment of tense silence he continued, "We met a druid boy, Mordred, when he was eight years old, and we saved his live. Years later, when Arthur was a king, he returned and was knighted. He was willing to become my ally. However, I was suspicious of him. I cast him away, every time he came to me. He was in love with a druid girl, Kara, who was a follower of Morgana and tried to kill Arthur. Arthur had no choice but to sentence her to death. They escaped, but I told the king about it and she was killed."

"Mordred joined Morgana after that and together they gathered an army. The druid told her who I was; the Emrys that the prophecies were about. The witch took my magic, just before the battle of Camlann. I had to leave Arthur and go to the Crystal Cave to get my powers back. Knowing this, she trapped me there but I managed to free myself. I rushed to the battlefield and destroyed Morgana's army. However, I was too late. Mordred had mortally wounded Arthur. I tried to save him, take him to Avalon Lake where he could be healed. I didn't get there in time. He died in my arms."

"The Dragon told me he would come back. I've waited, my body stopped aging. I watched as my friends got older and one by one left me. I let Camelot burn down."

"Wizards see me as a hero, a winner, the most powerful warlock to ever walk on Earth. But I am just a tired old man with too many sins on his shoulders."


	3. Arthur's Cover

_"Wizards see me as a hero, a winner, the most powerful warlock to ever walk on Earth. But I am just a tired old man with too many sins on his shoulders."_

A loud smack echoed in the room, interrupting the pregnant silence. Arthur had stood up, and was now glaring with fury at Merlin. The servant was rubbing his head to make the pain caused by the hit go away.

"What the hell?" the warlock demanded, having been caught off guard by Arthur's reaction.

"Are you insane? Have you gotten crazy over the years?" Arthur's voice was low, dangerous. It rose with every word. Merlin would prefer yelling, "What did I tell you, Merlin?!" He didn't say precisely what he meant by that, but he didn't need to. Both of them knew that the blonde talked about the day of his death and the words in which he had said goodbye to the warlock.

_"I don't want you to change. I want you to always be you."_

"I tried. Gods know how hard I tried. But I didn't have anyone to remind me," Arthur's fierce expression began to soften, "Time went on and I started to forget. One day I realized I couldn't recall your voice. I started to forget your face. I was so scared that when you came back, I wouldn't recognize you. I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry," Tears filled the servant's eyes but he didn't let them fall.

"No, Merlin, _I'm_ sorry. I left you," Arthur gulped, "You can't torture yourself like that. Morgana and Mordred chose their paths themselves; no one could change their minds. You couldn't have prevented my death or the fall of Camelot either, those events were prophesized long before our births. No force could change it. Do you hear me? There was nothing more you could do."

"Arthur…" Merlin's voice was small, vulnerable. He looked like he was made of glass and could break at any moment. However, the guilt left his eyes and the King knew he would be ok. It would take time, but his friend would be all right. Arthur sent him a smile and added the words he had said once before, "Thank you. For everything you have done for me."

Merlin responded with a weak, but relieved smile. Then they both turned to the Headmaster and the teens, "If we have that all cleared up, we can move on to more current events. As I told you, I had a vision of Voldemort's rebirth. It was happening during the third task in the Triwizard Tournament. You and the other contestants were in a Labyrinth. Harry and Cedric were the first to reach the cup, but it was a Portkey. You were taken by it to the graveyard where Riddle's father had been buried. Peter Pettigrew and the Deatheaters were waiting for you there. Peter killed Cedric and captured you. He performed a ritual of the Old Religion, I wish I knew how he had learned about it, and he resurrected Voldemort. Then the vision stopped."

The others all paled visibly. Ron faltered on his feet and, for a moment, Merlin was scared that he would faint. It was clear that none of them had ever considered the possibility of the return of the most dangerous wizard in centuries. Merlin knew that he had to reassure them somehow or it would haunt them in their nightmares. He understood them and their fear very well. They were behaving just like people in Camelot had when they had heard of Morgana.

"I have to tell you that I've never been able to change Destiny before. However, I believe that this time will be different since I was informed about it. The Old Religion literally made me come here to prevent such a big change in the Balance of Life and Death. I'm sure we won't let it happen, not when we are together," The warlock looked around with a large grin, trying to show how sure of it he was.

"We have a lot of time to talk about that though. Now, we have more burning problem to solve. We have to hide Arthur. Whereas I can still pose as a sixth year student, he can't. He doesn't know anything about magic," Merlin was glad he could change the topic, but he hadn't the slightest idea of what were they going to do about the King.

"Maybe we can tell everyone that the person from the Lake was a ghost messenger? It wouldn't stop people from gossiping but it would be a good explanation for why someone was walking on the water. And maybe we can just hide Arthur somewhere?" Hermione proposed. It seemed that even confusion and fear couldn't influence her brilliant brain.

"Great idea with the ghost, but the second part won't work. He is a prat and he can't sit on his backside for a day, never mind a few weeks."

"Hey! I will put you in the stocks for that!" Arthur snapped, though he didn't seem angry.

"No you won't. Besides, there aren't any stocks nowadays."

"You don't have to hide in the school, Your Majesty. You can stay in London with Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. I'm sure he will be glad to help you," Dumbledore offered, interrupting them. Arthur frowned at his words.

"Arthur. Please, just call me Arthur," He sighed, "I appreciate your offer but I can't leave Merlin on his own, not now. Someone has to look after him, he is a magnet for danger."

"Am not, you clotpole! You are the reason I am always in trouble!"

"Excuses, excuses. I'm sure that if …" They both were happy to go back to their usual banter but Harry interrupted him.

"Maybe he doesn't have to be a sixth or fourth year student?"

"Oh," Merlin's eyes flashed with understanding, "That's… That's a brilliant idea! I haven't thought about it in that way, but actually I think it's our only option," He smiled, but it quickly changed into evil grin, "He will be furious about it, so I love it even more."

"You do realize that I'm in the room, Merlin? What are you two talking about?" It was good to have the old Merlin back, but Arthur definitely didn't like his friend's expression. He had seen it countless times before. It always meant trouble.

"You will be a Hogwarts's student," Hermione smiled under her nose and Dumbledore nodded, giving his permission. Only Ron and the King still didn't understand. The warlock looked at the royal and muttered a simple spell quietly. His eyes flashed with gold. The wizards jolted, surprised with the sudden use of Old Magic. The armor the blonde was wearing changed into a black robe with Gryffindor's colors, "Better. You will be in their house."

"But the hat!" Hermione looked slightly affronted.

"OK, sorry. I will put that stupid hat on him, but it won't change anything. He's one hundred percent a Gryffindor," He pulled it from the top shelf near the Headmaster's desk and placed it on the King's head. After a few seconds the hat confirmed his statement, "Told you?" He averted his eyes from the witch towards Arthur, "You can't do magic and you don't have the ability to do so you're going to have to pretend. Give me Excalibur."

Arthur was a bit surprised that the magic that changed his clothes had left the sword alone but then he remembered that Merlin had called it 'the sword forged in dragon's breath' when he had killed Morgana. It wasn't a normal blade. The blonde gave the weapon to his friend. Merlin took it and frowned, "Right, I will need…" He said a few foreign words and put his hand into one of his pockets. He took out a beautiful red stone and placed it in the top of Excalibur's handle. Then he chanted another spell and the sword transformed into a wand. It was long and smooth, simple but elegant. The ruby was placed on the bottom of it. Merlin smiled and gave the wand back to the King, "Here. I did the same thing with my Sidhe staff; the wands are much too fragile for my magic," He pulled it out to show them. The wand was light, almost gray and seemed used, but that didn't take its beauty away. In the place where Arthur's one had the ruby it had a blue stone.

When the others lost their interest in the item, Merlin hid it away again and pointed at the changed sword, "I charged the stone with a part of my power. This way you will be able to do magic, but I'll have to charge it again at some point. And if you ever need the sword back, you just need to say 'Excalibur'."

Arthur looked at his former manservant with awe, but he quickly covered it with a bored expression. Merlin smirked under his nose, easily seeing the emotions behind the King's mask. The blond never had managed to hide anything from the warlock, and it seemed like that hadn't changed.

"I'll give you some stuff from my case, you couldn't have arrived empty-handed and I have too much anyway. Now, your identity. Your first name can stay, it's pretty common, but we have to change your surname," He looked around, thinking, "Pendragon, Dragon, King, Penn… oh, maybe Penny?"

"Arthur Penny? It sounds ok," Ron agreed. The others nodded.

"What about a cover story? Merlin had one, didn't he?" Arthur tried not to show how confused he was. How on earth could he now introduce himself as Arthur Penny? Pendragon sounded mighty, and Penny… Merlin cut his train of thoughts.

"You can be a muggle born; it would explain why you don't know anything about magic, just try not to talk about Muggles. You live in London with your father and older sister, Morgan. You were in a hospital, a muggle hospital, maybe because of a car accident? We can say that you had a complicated break in your leg so you only got out in December and you had rehabilitation 'til now, but you are fully recovered," He turned to the teens and Dumbledore, "What do you think about it?"

"I think it is a good excuse," The Headmaster gave his permission after a moment.

"But he still looks too old," reminded Hermione. Merlin responded with the same dark grin as before. Then, he looked at the King.

"I'll cast a spell on you, just like I did with myself so I look like I did when I was sixteen. I've never done it with anyone but myself, but I'm sure it will work," He placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder, " _Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum,_ " His eyes turned into melted gold.

Arthur felt when Merlin's magic began flowing through his body. A strange feeling built in his stomach. Suddenly, he started to become smaller and smaller. He panicked when the thought that it wouldn't stop and he would fade away crossed his mind, but eventually the feeling of magic disappeared. The first thing he noticed was the fact that Merlin had changed his robe too, so that it still fit perfectly. Then he looked up and froze. Everything was big. The warlock, who had only been a few inches shorter than him a minute ago, was now at least two heads taller. He finally realized what Harry had meant and let out a girly squeak, "What have you done to me, idiot?!" His voice was high. Merlin's smile widened.

"Don't shout. I just did what you wanted – changed your age," He moved closer, trying to get a better look at his now younger friend. His eyes shone with pure amusement.

"Welcome to the first year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"One more word, Merlin, and I swear you will have to clean all the floors in the entire castle."

Merlin just grinned. Arthur guessed he didn't look very kingly when he was eleven. Bloody spell.

"I didn't say anything, Sire. Or should I call you 'young master'?"

"Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took the spell from Merlin wiki, it's the one with which he turned into Dragoon.


	4. Arthur's First Day

As soon as they had finished talking with the Headmaster, the teens went with Arthur and Merlin to the Hufflepuffs' dorm. As they walked there, Hermione and Ron took the opportunity to show the blond the classrooms and corridors that they were passing. The dorm was next to the kitchen and the beautiful smell of food filled the air of the entire corridor. They entered the common room and followed Merlin to the dormitory he shared with four other boys. As he had promised, Merlin then gave Arthur some of his clothes, a mix of both the Muggle and wizarding kind, as well as some other necessary things, like a toothbrush. He had all required books for the first year, too. Arthur thought it was strange, but that was _Merlin_ after all; he did many uncanny things. However, when the royal shared this thought with the servant, Merlin just laughed and explained that he had bought them along with the ones for all the classes from second to sixth year before entering the school in order to know the range of knowledge he should possess. He hadn't wanted to expose himself using a spell he shouldn't have known.

Then Harry, Ron and Hermione took the King to their dorm. By that time it was eight o'clock. They had missed dinner, so everyone was really happy when a few minutes later Merlin came in with food that he had sneaked out from the kitchen. It seemed that he was liked by the elves, because the plates were full of delicious courses which Arthur recognized as the servant's favorites.

They ate together, first in silence, and then listening to Merlin's usual babbling, which he started as soon as he finished his serving. He talked mostly to Arthur, about the modern world, explaining the most basic changes in Muggles' lives and a bit about the magical society. He told him about the school, too; the new lessons, the teachers, the plan of the day. He talked in a low voice, so nobody unwanted could hear. Arthur listened carefully, trying not to look too interested. Yes, he had watched over the warlock, but not constantly and the idiot had spent most of his lone years in the Crystal Cave, walking out only when he had to. The blond hadn't had many opportunities to look at normal people and he found himself fascinated with modern technology. He wanted to know everything and hoped that they could explore it properly someday when Destiny finally left them alone.

The Golden Trio sat next to the King, as hypnotized as the royal was. They already knew the things Merlin spoke about, of course; they were obvious even to Ron. What mesmerized them was the warlock himself. It was hard to take their eyes off him. Merlin talked with enthusiasm, his eyes sparkling with glee. He looked so much better than he had just an hour before, they hardly could believe it. Power was radiating from him in waves, pulsing in a steady rhythm. It wasn't as overwhelming as before, near the Lake; this magic seemed warm and calming. After the stressful day they had had, it was something they all wanted and needed.

"…and I would recommend watching out for the Potions teacher, Snape. He's a bit…"

"Hi!" Suddenly, the warlock was interrupted by Neville, who had entered the room and headed towards them when he had spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione. Seeing the King and his servant, the friendly smile dropped from his face. He frowned a bit and his cheeks reddened, "Sorry, I didn't know you had a company. I should have, but… um, I will go and…"

Hermione interrupted him quickly to reassure the boy, "Neville, it's ok; we were just talking. This is Arthur, a new student. He's starting his first year, having recently recovered from an accident. Us three and Marvin were assigned to help him around until he becomes accustomed to Hogwarts. He's a muggle born; you know how it's confusing for them in the first few weeks here."

Neville sighed with relief and the smile came back on his face.

"Nice to meet you!" The enthusiasm in his voice made the sentence more than just a common phrase; it sounded sincere coming from his mouth. Merlin smiled, too. He saw himself as he had been before Camelot in the boy and he hoped that his innocence stayed longer than the warlock's had, "You too, Marvin. I've seen you around, but I didn't know you were a Gryffindor."

"That's probably because I'm a Hufflepuff. I'm just walking Arthur to his dorm. My mother has been friends with his since university, so Arthur and I know each other as well. That's why the Headmaster asked me to look after him and help him to catch up."

"Oh. I understand. But if you are a Hufflepuff, shouldn't you be in your dorm by now? It's after lights out."

"What?!" Merlin looked at his watch. It was half past nine. He should have been in his room half an hour ago. Crap. "I should get going. See you tomorrow at the breakfast!" He smiled cheerfully and quickly walked out through the Fat Lady's painting, looking around before entering the corridor in case a teacher was there.

When the painting closed behind the warlock, Arthur sighed. Harry threw him a questioning look, but the King just ignored him. They talked with Neville about herbology for a while, but soon the boy left them. As soon as the other Gryffindor couldn't hear them, Harry looked at the blond with a frown and asked, "Something's wrong?"

"No, nothing that you should worry about. I'm just a bit tired," Arthur sent them a half hearted smile. No matter how much Merlin had used to tease him about how obvious he was, only the warlock could have guessed that maybe he was a bit nervous about the next day, his first day at school. Arthur silently thanked gods that Merlin hadn't seen his feelings or he wouldn't have let the King live it down for weeks.

He sighed again and stood up, showing that the conversation was over. The teenagers noticed that even in the smaller body the blond could still look intimidating when he wanted to. Without a word they showed Arthur his new room, which to his surprise he had to share with two other first years, and left him alone.

It had been a long day and everyone needed to gather their thoughts.

 

*********

 

Arthur's first day as a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started badly.

He woke up late, because the most incompetent servant in the world (who cares that technically it was a former servant) hadn't come to get him out of the bed at the right time. He only realized that breakfast was about to start because he overheard two boys talking when they left. He quickly got dressed and stormed out of the dorm, but he got lost in the labyrinth of corridors and moving stairs. Eventually he found the Great Hall with the help of Sir Cadogan, but he wasn't sure whether he wouldn't prefer to roam through the castle a bit longer if it meant not meeting the knight. He was bloody _weird_.

When Arthur finally found Harry, Ron and Hermione, they were almost finished. They tried to talk to him, but the King was already in a foul mood and sulking, so the Golden Trio left him alone. Sometime later he saw Merlin leaving the Great Hall and when their eyes met Arthur nodded at him to come closer, but the warlock seemed to realize that Arthur was angry with him because the servant just smirked to the blond slyly and retreated. Arthur was left on his own again. Great.

Finding the classroom in which he would have History of Magic took him a while too, but he managed to find the room and sit at an empty desk before the bell rang.

When the lesson started, Arthur found out that the teacher was a ghost. The King had met one back in Camelot, a Druid child, and it hadn't been a nice experience. Luckily, he had been warned by Merlin the day before, so he didn't do something stupid like screaming a warning or attacking. Instead, he listened to Professor Binns' monologue. He couldn't deny that he was curious. Magic had always fascinated him, but as a prince or a king he couldn't have done any research about it. He decided to take this opportunity and learn something.

Suddenly, the doors opened with a bang and a short boy with brown hair walked in. He apologized for being late and found himself a place. Arthur wouldn't have minded about the interruption but then the boy sat directly next to the royal. The blond ignored him and tried to listen to the teacher, but the ghost's lesson turned out to be as boring as a Council meeting. He tried to fall sleep but the boy, who introduced himself as Henry Gordon, didn't allow him that pleasure. He started to talk and, dear god, he was even a bigger chatterbox than his useless servant. Arthur had an unpleasant feeling that he would be tormented by Henry the whole day.

It was definitely a bad start to the day and Arthur could already say that the remainder would be even worse.

 

*********

 

A few hours later Arthur found himself in the Great Hall eating dinner with Harry and Hermione next to him and Ron and Merlin on the other side of the table. He had decided to stop sulking after spending an hour with Henry; he hadn't wanted to be left with the boy for longer than necessary. After three lessons as well as the lunch break between them, the royal was tired of him.

However, the King had noticed that Henry wasn't liked very much by the other students either; he hadn't talked to anyone but Arthur. Maybe the blond could make friends with him after all. He was annoying, but so was Merlin and Arthur somehow managed to put up with the idiot. Henry couldn't be very different and the royal needed someone to guide him through the wizards' world; Merlin couldn't be with him all the time and even the warlock had gaps in his knowledge due to his isolation.

The lessons were a nightmare. After boring History of Magic he'd had Transfiguration, which he couldn't understand at all. Why did anyone have to know how to change a fork into a spoon, when he could just take one when needed?

But it was nothing compared to the last lesson – Potions. That was the thing that he complained about the most.

"Snape is such a clotpole! How am I supposed to know what a bezoar is and what its applications are? I didn't have time to even open the book, not to mention read it. And he told me I only have 'til next Monday to catch up with the class. Can you believe it?! It's a pure madness!"

Merlin smirked, "If you had paid more attention to Gaius, you would know more about herbs and medicines. Besides, 'clotpole' is my word."

"But it matches him perfectly! And you know I didn't have time to play Gaius's apprentice with all the trainings and then ruling," Arthur snapped, "I told him the story we came up with yesterday and do you know what his answer was? That he doesn't care!"

"It sounds just like him," Harry smiled with understanding, "So what did you do?"

"Well what could I do? I argued with him, of course!"

"You argued with Snape and you're still alive?" Ron couldn't believe his ears. His eyes were wide as saucers.

"Yeah, and instead of agreeing with me and apologizing, he took fifty points from my house!" When Merlin laughed, the blond looked at him, confused, "What? What are you laughing at?!"

"Nothing, Sire. It's just good to know you are as much of a prat as I remember."


	5. The Marauder's Map

Arthur was sharing a dormitory with Henry Gordon.

He seemed to be sentenced to the boy. Arthur would bet that Merlin would have called this 'destiny' and laughed, but the King cared only about how annoying this particular destiny was. The first week with him was a nightmare; it was like having a second Merlin. Henry talked constantly, even during lessons. Arthur had even ended up in detention once because of him.

However, after the first few days he got used to it. The blond noticed that when he was with the boy, he didn't think about Camelot or worry about the future. Instead of being Arthur Pendragon, the great king and warrior, he could just be Arthur Penny, the Hogwarts student, whose biggest trouble was an essay for Transfiguration.

During a lunch break, exactly one week after joining the school, Arthur heard from two girls in his class why Henry was so disliked. It seemed that the Gordons were a noble, pureblood wizard family, whose every member except Henry had been in Slytherin. The Gryffindors didn't think about the boy as one of them.

It made Arthur sick. He could easily see how much Henry wanted to be accepted by the others. He couldn't fathom how he had survived half a year alone. The King hadn't expected the other classmates, the _kids_ , to be so cruel. That was the reason why he understood when Henry followed him like a lovesick puppy with his warm, brown eyes full of admiration, as if he had never seen anyone better than Arthur.

The King quickly noticed the differences between Henry and Merlin. Both of them talked too much and were unnaturally cheerful, but Henry had very low self-esteem. Where Merlin was cheeky, Henry was shy. He took everything that the others said about him as the truth. Arthur needed to take care of that, and make the boy believe in himself.

Apart from the troubles with Henry, the blond got quite used to the school. After the first hard week, which was full of times he had been late, he stopped getting lost. The lessons didn't terrify him as much as they had on the first day. He had learned about the teachers, and what was expected of him.

Twice a week he had meetings with Merlin. The warlock was supposed to teach him about the things he had missed when he was 'in hospital'. And they did learn, of course, but they mainly talked. Arthur wanted to know everything about magic and the Muggles' world, he hated to feel clueless.

Merlin turned out to be a great teacher. He was patient, but when Arthur made the same mistake repeatedly, he would give the King a cheeky comment, stimulating the blond to keep trying. He quickly found himself getting better and better. Actually, he predicted that he would be able to catch up with the class in less than a month.

At each meeting Merlin charged Arthur's wand and informed him about his search. The warlock, with Dumbledore's subtle help, was trying to find Voldemort's spy. It wasn't easy, and at each meeting Arthur saw how frustrated Merlin was by the lack of progress. The King always gave him words of reassurance, but his own anxiety was rising too.

Both of them feared that they wouldn't be able to change destiny this time. Merlin had tried a few times in the past and although they knew that it was different now, they still caught themselves doubting the possibility of making any variation in the events that would come.

However, despite these dark thoughts they always managed to put expressions full of conviction on their faces when asked by Harry, Ron or Hermione. They needed to be strong, for the teenagers' sake.

But after an eventless month, Merlin's patience was getting really thin.

 

*********

 

They were sitting in the great hall, eating dinner and talking. Harry was relating his third year at Hogwarts.

Arthur, Merlin, Harry, Ron and Hermione always sat together and talked during meals. The other Gryffindors were so used to Merlin - a Hufflepuff – being there that they barely noticed him now. They had stopped sending him questioning glances a long time ago.

Henry had been more difficult to persuade, as he had wanted to sit with Arthur at any cost. However, since they were usually talking about things they wanted to keep secret, the boy had been forced to eat with Jenny, a girl from his class, who sometimes talked to him and Arthur, whom she not-so-secretly-as-she-thought liked. Arthur had made it clear that he wasn't interested but the girl was stubborn and had apparently decided to get closer to the King through Henry. Arthur was happy that at least the boy wasn't left alone.

"…and then I used the Marauder's Map, and…" Arthur wanted to ask about that map; he had never heard of it before, but Merlin was faster.

"The Marauder's Map! Of course, why haven't I thought of it before?! Do you still have it? Is it in Hogwarts?" his eyes sparkled with excitement. His mind was already running, creating the future movements he would take. The map was the easiest way to discover the spy; even if he had found a way to change the name shown on the item, Merlin knew very well how to discover and reverse such spells.

"It is, but I lent it to Mad Eye Moody. He saved me from Snape discovering that I was out of the dorm at night. He wanted to use it to search for the intruder, too," Harry's answer wasn't exactly what Merlin hoped for. He frowned.

"Can you get it back? With that map I can find him in less than an hour."

"Okay, I'll go, but do you think it will really help? The professor's had it for a month, and he's found nothing."

"Maybe, but is he Merlin?" the warlock smirked with fake superiority, but it didn't bring him the desired effect. The Golden Trio looked at him skeptically, and Arthur almost choked with laughter.

Unwittingly Merlin's expression changed back into his usual goofy smile.

 

*********

 

Harry went to see Moody immediately after dinner. He walked quickly through the corridors, so when he reached Moody's office he was slightly out of breath. He waited for a couple of minutes until his heartbeat came back to normal. Then he braced himself and knocked. After a moment he heard the Auror's hoarse voice saying "Come in". Harry opened the doors and entered the room.

It was dark inside. The sun had already set, and the only source of the light was a fireplace. Moody stood near a wooden desk. On the table stood six or seven candles, but only two were lit. Moody had his wand in his hand, pointing at the next candle.

The Auror turned around to see who had entered the room before going back to lighting the candles.

"Oh, Harry! I have to say, I wasn't expecting it to be you. What brings you to my office?"

Harry cleared his throat, "I wanted to know if there's been any progress in the search for whoever put my name into the Goblet of Fire. Have you found anything?" Moody turned his face from the candles towards the teen again.

"No, not yet. Is there a particular reason why you ask me about this now?" Both the professor's eyes pierced through Harry. It felt like the wizard could see everything, every thought, every little secret the boy had. It confused and disturbed Harry. A red alarm lit in his head. Something felt wrong.

"No, I'm just a bit worried about it. The person is working for Voldemort, isn't he? So he may be dangerous."

Moody smiled, but it was more a nasty grin than a friendly smile, "You shouldn't worry about this. We, the teachers I mean, are doing everything we can to protect the students."

Harry frowned, "I know, it's just that I can't stop thinking about this," he gulped, gathering himself, "Professor, can you give me the Marauder's map back? I need it."

"You need it? What for? Surely not to look for the spy by yourself? If that's the case, I can't let you, Harry. You shouldn't interfere in this, it may be dangerous."

"Of course not! I just need it to, uhmm…"

"Surely such a good pupil like you wouldn't need to use the map to do something stupid like sneaking out at night again? Especially when there is the intruder in the school."

"No, professor. I understand. Sorry for taking so much of your time."

"No problem, boy. Remember, you can always come to me if there is something bothering you."

"Thank you, professor. Goodbye."

When Harry walked out of the office, he wasn't sure why he had lied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The event, about which Harry talks about, happened in the last chapter of GoF before this fic begins


	6. The Last Resort

"He didn't let you take the map back?" hissed Merlin. He and the others had been sitting in the library when Harry had come in and told them what had happened in Moody's office.

"I'm sorry. He started to suspect something and you've asked me not to tell anybody about your true identity. I didn't want him to know. And I had a strange feeling…" Harry hesitated, "No, I'm sorry. I should have insisted on taking it back even if it seemed strange." He lowered his gaze, ashamed.

"It's ok, Harry. We will find another way," Merlin sighed and ran his hand through his raven-black hair.

Things were getting complicated. The normal means like eavesdropping or spying, which he had already used to look for the intruder, weren't enough for this case and now the idea with the map hadn't worked out either. Merlin sighed again. He would have to do what he had only thought about as a last resort.

"Ok, I have another idea. There is a spell which, used on a powerful magical object, is able to replay events from the object's past in the caster's mind," he frowned, "But there is a problem - I don't remember it, so I'll have to look for it in my books. Come on, we're going to my dorm." He stood up and rushed past shelves full of books towards the entrance of the library. The others quickly picked up their things and followed him.

"You brought your books here?" Hermione was interested to know.

"Yes. Not all of them, of course, but enough."

"Can I see some later?" The eyes of the bushy-haired girl sparked with the desire for knowledge. Merlin smirked at the sight,

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but most of them are about the Old Magic."

The light in her eyes didn't waver. "Can I see them anyway? I want to learn about the Old Religion as well."

"Ok then, I'll give you a few of them later," he replied just as they arrived at his dorm. Merlin opened the door, waited for everyone to go inside, and then closed it behind himself. He quickly checked whether there was anyone inside his bedroom, but, beside his friends, it was empty.

"Sit down, this will take a moment," Merlin directed them and grabbed his luggage. Next to him, Arthur leaned closer to get a better look at what the warlock was doing.

"How many books did you pack in there? Five? Are you sure that the spell is in one of them?"

"Arthur, where do you think I kept all the books you are using now for your lessons? I'm not limited by space like the Muggles are. This case is bigger in the inside, and much lighter than it would normally be."

Arthur looked at him with awe. "You can do that with magic?"

"Quite easily. What, did you think that magic is only for healing and fighting?" Arthur's cheeks colored with scarlet. "Don't answer that question. And move. I need more space."

When Arthur moved aside, Merlin concentrated on the case again. He quickly decided that it would be too much effort to take out all the books himself and used his magic instead. "Watch out," he warned as throngs of books started to fly out of the luggage, building perfectly even piles on the floor in the middle of the room.

"How many books did you bring exactly?" Ron asked, a bit scared by the number of them.

"Over a hundred," he smiled goofily at a look he received from Harry, Ron and Arthur. Only Hermione didn't seem to mind. "Hey! Don't look at me like that! You never know what's going to happen and what you will need. Better safe than sorry."

"How do you imagine us looking through all of those books?! It'll take ages!" Ron exclaimed, "I am certainly not spending the whole night searching for a spell."

"Don't worry, all you have to do is to sit and watch," he winked at their surprised expressions, "I'll do all the work. I'm going to use another spell to 'read' them. It'll only take a few minutes, so no underslept wizards required."

"If it's so simple, why didn't you do it before?" Harry asked. Merlin's good humor faded.

"It's not a very pleasant spell. It stuffs all the knowledge from the books into the mind of the caster. Using it means letting yourself be flooded with a huge amount of information at once. It can make a mind a bit crowded, I'd say."

"Is it dangerous?" Arthur wanted to know. He didn't want to put Merlin at any risk, even if it meant looking through hundreds of books in the conventional way.

"No, it's just unpleasant," Merlin grimaced, "If we have that sorted out, can I start? I want to get this over with already." They nodded and Merlin sat down on his bed. "I'll be exhausted after this, so don't worry. It's normal. Just be careful to not let anyone in during the show."

Merlin averted his eyes to the pile of books and gulped, " _Sele mé þín_ _andgiete,_ _bíge_ _æt_ _mín_ _gewill._ "

A book from the top of the pile closest to the warlock rose into the air, flew in front of him, and opened. The pages started to turn over as if someone was reading the book at an enormous speed. Merlin's eyes closed as his mind was hit by the sudden rush of information. Cold drops of sweat appeared on his creased forehead. With every second he looked more and more exhausted. When the end of the book was reached, it laid itself on the floor and the next one mimicked the motions of the first.

In less than five minutes almost all of the books were laying on the second pile, but then the movement suddenly stopped and Merlin opened his eyes. He smiled weakly, "I found it."

He tried to stand up, but his legs gave up under his weight and he would have fallen if Harry and Arthur hadn't caught him. "Easy, you idiot. Ugh, did you gain weight recently?" the King complained as they helped the servant to lie down on the bed.

"It is you who has lost your strength. You are a little prince now, not the mighty King, remember?" Merlin answered cheekily, "I'll be ok. I told you it's a mean spell."

"Still, I think you need some rest," Hermione stated and packed the books back into the bag with a wave of her wand, "We can wait one more day to discover the spy. You are useless now, anyway."

"Hey!" Merlin argued weakly and looked at Arthur, "I swear you have a bad influence on them."

"Don't worry; it's only the beginning. Just wait until I teach them my insults," Arthur said with a mischievous grin when they walked out of the room, leaving the tired warlock alone.

 

*********

 

Merlin woke up with a headache, but besides that he felt normal. He groaned and looked at a clock on his bedside cabinet. It was early. He still had an hour before breakfast.

He got up, took a shower, and dressed himself, taking his time, and then went to Gryffindors' dorm.

He was let inside by the Fat Lady without even having to give the password. The woman adored him and told him about how cute he was every time they met. Merlin found it rather creepy, but didn't protest as he often needed something or someone from the dorm. However, it didn't stop him from shuddering as soon as she couldn't see him.

Remembering his task, he headed to Arthur's bedroom. Breakfast was due to start in fifteen minutes, so the blond was the only one in the room. Surprisingly, he was already dressed and ready to go. His eyes widened as he noticed the warlock.

"Merlin, what are you doing here? Are you ok?" he asked, worried.

"Yes. I have a slight headache, but nothing more."

Arthur smirked, "Did you miss me then? We saw each other only yesterday, you know, but if you need to see me more often you just need to ask. I will be happy to-"

"You wish," Merlin cut him quickly, "I need to talk to you."

Arthur noticed his serious expression. "What is it?"

"I want to go to the Goblet and capture the spy with just you. I don't want to mix the kids in that fight."

"Merlin, they are already a part of this fight! Actually, they are the reason it's happening!" Arthur was close to yelling.

"I know, but it's going to be dangerous. They might die, Arthur, and I don't want to lose anyone because I wasn't able to protect them." Arthur saw the spark of painful memories in the warlock's eyes and heard the desperation in his pleading.

The King gave up. "Ok, so how do you want to do this? I'm rather useless now, with that stick as my only defense."

Merlin sighed with relief and smiled, "I will age you back and you will make Excalibur a sword. I can protect you from any magical attacks, and you will take the physical ones. After capturing the spy, I'll turn you back to an eleven-year old again."

"What are you gonna tell the kids? They will want to go with us," Arthur asked, still a bit anxious.

"That I have a terrible headache and we will have to wait 'til tomorrow to use the spell."

"They will be furious when they learn what we did," the blond remarked.

"Maybe, but they will be alive," Merlin smiled weakly, "Let's meet in the great hall an hour after lights out."

 

*********

 

Deceiving Harry, Ron and Hermione was too easy. It reminded Merlin about the years in Camelot when there hadn't been a single day that he hadn't lied.

The warlock was a bit worried that Arthur wouldn't be able to act naturally, which would destroy all their efforts at once, but the blond was a surprisingly good actor. He wouldn't have managed to deceive Merlin, who knew the prat too well, but he definitely misled the teens.

Merlin had told Dumbledore about their plan though. He needed the headmaster to remove the teachers guarding the hallways during the night. The warlock and the King couldn't afford to be interrupted. They finally had a chance to catch the spy, but if somebody found out who they were and what they were trying to do it would be chaos. At best, the spy would know they were after him and they would lose the element of surprise. At worst, the spy would be tipped off and they would also have the attention of the entire wizarding world, with people wanting to meet the real King Arthur and Merlin. Then it would be impossible to do anything.

 

*********

 

When Merlin entered the great hall, Arthur was already there and pacing quietly between shadows in the dark room. He stopped as soon as he saw the warlock.

"Nervous?" Merlin asked with a grin and the blond frowned.

"Kings do not get nervous, Merlin. You should know that," he answered with pride.

"Of course, Sire. If you say so," Merlin's smile widened, but it disappeared as soon as he remembered what they were meeting there for. "Shall I start?"

Arthur nodded in response, so Merlin walked forward until he was facing the Goblet of Fire, the only source of light in the room besides the stars on the ceiling. The warlock put his hands on the ornamented surface of the vessel and said the spell.

The events of the Goblet's history flashed in his mind like a film; its origins, the first years of its life, all the tournaments, all the participants. His mind jumped from one scene to another, looking for the latest events.

He recognized Dumbledore's speech and the opening of this year's tournament. At that point he slowed the memories; he didn't want to miss seeing the spy and have to repeat the spell. Finally, he found the person he had been looking for for months.

Merlin stopped the spell and turned to Arthur, who was standing beside him, waiting.

"It's Moody."

Arthur's eyes widened in shock, but then he grinned, "Let's go for a hunt then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The spell is poorly translated "Give me your knowledge, bend to my will!" on http://www.oldenglishtranslator.co.uk. Let me know if there are any mistakes.


	7. How To Catch An Auror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My birthday chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it!

Loud, quick steps echoed in an empty corridor, their owner unconcerned by anyone who could be listening.

It was after midnight and the students were long asleep. The teachers were in their rooms as well, leaving the school empty from their watching eyes. The headmaster had made sure Hogwarts would be unguarded that night.

The running person stopped before one of the professors' rooms and knocked loudly, not taking a break to catch their breath. Nothing happened for a moment and the student knocked again, more urgently this time. The doors finally opened, revealing the dark figure of the owner of the room.

"Yes?" Moody asked the boy before him. He knew it had to be something important. No one would dare to disturb his night otherwise.

The boy's light blue eyes pierced him with their intensity. "Professor, I was on my way to the toilet when I saw Harry and Snape going to the Forbidden Forest. Harry had told me that there was a high possibility that Snape was the spy you were looking for. The situation didn't look normal, so I thought I should alert you."

Moody smirked under his nose. He had a great opportunity to mess with the Boy Who Lived's head again, 'saving' him from Snape, making him believe that the Potions professor was the enemy. He just had to get rid of that sneaky teacher and the student before him. But Mad-Eye needed to know where to go first. "Good job. Can you show me where they headed?"

The boy nodded. Moody grabbed his heavy leather coat, closed the doors of the room behind him and locked it with a quick spell and a wave of his wand. He turned back to the boy, ready to go.

"We should move if we don't want to lose them. After you, Marvin."

The young wizard nodded. "Yes, professor."

 

*********

 

Merlin led Moody through the Forbidden Forest, trying not to look suspicious. The hardest part of the act – convincing the Auror to go with him - was already behind him. Now they only needed to reach the clearing, where Arthur was waiting for them.

After learning that Moody was the spy that they had been looking for for weeks, Merlin had to stop Arthur from going to the professor's room and fighting him there and then. He convinced the King that it would be better to take the traitor outside, where no one could see or hear them.

They spent the following hour planning their next moves carefully. They talked through every option they had, every route they could take. It took only a few small arguments to reach an agreement.

Then they had to find a place fitting for their plan. They left the castle and found a clearing in the forest that was perfect; small and well-hidden.

After that, Merlin used a spell to turn the blond back to his original age and changed his wand into the sword. He hadn't needed to use the potion for erasing the aging spell for centuries. And it was good that he didn't, because they had no the time to brew it anyway.

Arthur was ridiculously happy to be the right size again. Being squeezed in that tiny body had been really uncomfortable and felt wrong, not like himself anymore.

Now he was back and he was delighted by the sensation. Arthur hadn't even realized how much he'd missed wielding a sword in his hand.

His glee was quickly joined by a rush of adrenaline, when he remembered about their plan and the fight they would need to win. An evil grin appeared on his face when he realized that he would finally be able to dance with a sword again and show exactly how dangerous he was.

They quickly repeated the plan one more time and then they were ready.

" _Let the hunt begin_ ," Arthur's words repeated in Merlin's head as he left the clearing.

 

*********

 

Merlin was brought back to reality as he tripped over a root. He was still struggling to get to the clearing with Moody on his heels. It was obvious that the Auror was losing his patience. " _Why couldn't it be closer to the castle?! I have tripped at least three times already,"_ the warlock whined soundlessly.

They walked for a few more minutes in a silence. Finally, the trees ended to reveal the long-awaited clearing.

Merlin took a few more steps and stopped, standing near to the tree line. Moody walked past him, glancing around to find Snape and Harry, but he saw no one besides the boy.

"Where are they? Don't tell me you lost them," he growled dangerously. He wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"I didn't. Actually, I'm pretty sure that they are in the castle, probably in their beds," Merlin replied calmly. He saw the sudden rush of anger on the Auror's face.

"Are you kidding me? You have led me the whole way here to tell me that they aren't here?!" Moody, flooded by fury and hatred towards the boy, didn't notice that Merlin wasn't even a bit intimidated by his anger. However, he didn't fail to notice the shadow coming from the trees behind the student. A tall, fit blond stopped next to the boy.

He looked like he was in his twenties, but closer to thirty. He was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, and, surprisingly, he had a tie with Gryffindor's colors. His face looked strangely familiar, but somehow Moody couldn't place where he had seen the man before. At his hip was attached a long, shiny sword.

"We know who you are. Admit it and surrender, and we won't harm you," the blond said.

"And who are you to command me and to throw such accusations?" Moody barked, sticking to his act.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Arthur Pendragon."

Alastor really couldn't help himself. He started to laugh. "It's such an honor, Your Majesty. Do I have to kneel?" The blond's eyes narrowed.

The Mad-Eye's smile quickly faded as the man, _Arthur Pendragon_ , drew out his sword and waved it skillfully. It was obvious that the blade was sharp and the blond could use it well. Moody took his wand and glanced at Marvin. He stood directly behind the blond with raised, but empty hands.

These two knew his secret. Moody had no idea how they had discovered his true intentions, but they _knew_ and only that mattered now. They could ruin the whole plan, which had been so carefully prepared and brought to life. It didn't look like they had told anyone though. Good. He had to get rid of them, as soon as possible.

Mad-Eye smirked. There wouldn't be a better opportunity than this, the three of them in the middle of the forest with no witnesses. No one else would know. The pair had to be very brave or very stupid if they thought that they – a sixth year student and a man with a sword - could win against him, a Deatheater and a servant of the Dark Lord. Pointing his wand at the blond, he chanted a spell that every wizard knew, " _Avada Kedavra!"_

A sickly green light flooded from the tip of his wand and directed towards the man who called himself Arthur Pendragon. The blond started to move out from the trajectory of the spell, but he was too close to have time to even raise his sword. The light was only fractions of a second from hitting him.

Moody had to admit that the blond was brave. He didn't flinch and didn't betray his fear. The spy could see only a cold determination on his face, which was now lighted with green. Determination and something that looked like… amusement? _What?_

The spell was deflected by a barrier.

Impossible. No barrier could stop that curse.

But there it was. The barrier glowed a faint golden color. Moody's confused gaze wandered off from the smirking blond to the boy beside him, whose brows were furrowed in concentration, and whose eyes' color matched the gold of the barrier, though it was much more intense. He was still wandless.

The barrier suddenly disappeared and Arthur Pendragon swung his sword at Alastor. The Auror jumped out of the blade's way, but only barely. He cast another spell, this time at the boy, and, when Marvin was busy defending himself, Moody threw the deadly curse at the blond again.

This time Arthur Pendragon protected himself with his sword's blade, which easily rebounded the light.

Moody's eyes widened in disbelief. He tried to use another curse, but he was too focused on the blond and didn't notice that Marvin made a move with his hands, his eyes glowing gold again. He heard a screamed _"Astrice!"_ , but it was too late.

A wave of pure force, magic that he'd never felt before, pushed him. He flew backwards for what felt like ages but couldn't be more than seconds before his back connected with a tree. He fell to the ground limply and had only enough time to think " _Who are they?"_ before he passed out.

 

*********

 

Merlin took a deep shaky breath while Arthur was checking if Moody was really unconscious. His thoughts circled around the fight and the moment when he failed to protect the King. _If Arthur hadn't defended himself from that curse…_ Merlin didn't even want to think what he would do if he lost Arthur again.

Beside him the King groaned, "Why have you already knocked him out? I didn't even warm up! And you call that a difficult fight, _Mer_ lin? You are such a girl's petticoat!" Arthur looked at his friend with amusement, waiting for a cheeky reply, but there was none. Instead, he saw tears in the warlock's eyes.

"Merlin? Merlin, what's wrong?" he said, confused, and approached him slowly, trying to wake him from the shock and understand why he was so shaken.

Merlin raised his eyes to the King's face and then Arthur saw it. Fear. The blond reached out and stroked his raven-black hair in a gentle and reassuring way. "Merlin, it's alright. We defeated him. He can't do anything more. It's over."

"I couldn't protect you. He cast the death curse and I couldn't protect you…" A single tear ran down the warlock's cheek.

Arthur, trying to calm him down, hugged him tightly. He would have never done it in Camelot, where they'd had to keep up pretense, but they weren't in Camelot anymore. Arthur wasn't a king and Merlin wasn't a servant, and now Merlin needed him, his friend and his soul brother to tell him that everything was alright.

They stayed like that for a moment until Merlin calmed himself. They parted and Arthur cast a glance at the spy. He was still lying under the tree, but his features were slowly changing. "Merlin, look."

At first the changes were so small, that he wouldn't notice them if he wasn't looking so carefully. With time they became faster and bigger. They stopped after a few minutes.

The new sight shocked them. Lying before them was no longer Moody, but a young man. He had light-brown hair, a slim, oval face with handsome cheekbones, a long, even nose and narrow lips. The only sign of the transformation was his now loose clothes, which were the same as before.

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "Polyjuice Potion. I knew something was wrong with him." He looked at the confused King and explained, "He used a potion that gives the appearance of another person, in this case – Moody's."

They shared an unsure look.

Arthur was agitated. If there was such potion, how could they know who was with them and who was the enemy? The King left that question to ask Merlin later and instead voiced the second thought that appeared in both of their minds.

"If this isn't Moody, who the hell is this man?"


	8. The End Of Barty Crouch Jr

Merlin made Arthur carry the body of the unconscious spy the whole way back to Hogwarts.

He suspected Arthur had agreed only because of Merlin's earlier breakdown, but the warlock really didn't care. The thought of carrying the man with his sixteen year old untrained muscles was terrifying.

Of course, the fact that he'd agreed to do it didn't stop Arthur from complaining. He was groaning about how useless the warlock was and that a king should not do all the hard work. Merlin was very tempted to tell him to shut up, but he knew that this time Arthur would take it as an offence and probably would be angry with him for a day or two. A moment of silence definitely wasn't worth having to deal with a sulking Arthur.

Instead, Merlin stopped listening to his whining and just responded in the right moments, or so he hoped.

They reached the headmaster's office having only been seen by a painting. It happened while they were creeping through the corridor leading to the stairs. Merlin was so lost in his thoughts that he almost walked into one of the suits of armor that were standing on both sides of the corridor.

He noticed the obstacle just in time. To avoid the crash he had to turn suddenly, but his legs tangled and he tripped. He shot his arms out wide to regain his balance, but he forgot about the armor. His hand collided with the metal surface and a loud crashing sound echoed down the corridor.

The paintings shifted in their sleep, some of them mumbling through it, but the nearest figure moved consciously. The portrayed person didn't even spare them a glance though, just barked grumpily, "Silence, people want to sleep."

Arthur rolled his eyes at him and they continued through the school. The King started to grumble quietly again, just enough for Merlin to hear his complaints. He hadn't noticed that the warlock had stopped listening to him a long time ago, which Merlin took as a great success. He suspected that Arthur wouldn't really care anyway, because the King evidently just liked to hear his own voice. The thought made him smirk under his nose.

They went inside the headmaster's office, which was unsurprisingly empty. Arthur put the spy on the floor with a loud huff. Meanwhile, Merlin reached out to Dumbledore's mind.

It was an ability he'd learned from the Druids a few years after Arthur's death. At first, when they offered he had declined. It was a vivid reminder of Mordred and, through that, his failures. However, the leader of the clan he was with convinced him to give it a chance and Merlin was very grateful for that. He quickly learned that communicating through the mind often came in handy.

Merlin woke Dumbledore and quickly summarized to him what had happened. The headmaster was startled at first at the sudden intrusion, but he calmed as soon as Merlin explained everything. The old wizard assured him that he would come immediately and the warlock broke the connection.

Merlin opened his eyes and saw Arthur looking at him with the strange expression that he always had when Merlin did something uhm… _unconventional_.

"Don't tell me you fell asleep," he said with mocking disbelief. His eyebrows were furrowed in question and his lips bent with open amusement. "It's not that late, you big girl."

Merlin huffed in response, "Of course not, prat. I called to Dumbledore to tell him to come here."

"Of course you did," Arthur smirked, "There is no reason to sound so offended, _Mer_ lin. Did I hurt your feelings?"

Merlin sent him a deadly glare, trying to look intimidating and scary, but he didn't last long before bursting into laughter. Arthur followed him a second later. Their feelings, stained by the earlier fight, were finally cleared by the spontaneous moment of fun.

That was how Dumbledore found them; in a dark room, standing over an unconscious figure and laughing like mad. They calmed as soon as they noticed his presence, but Merlin couldn't stop himself from another few bursts of giggling. He looked ridiculous, Arthur thought.

It didn't look like the warlock was going to take control over the situation, so Arthur did. He explained everything to Dumbledore again, as the headmaster had still been half-asleep when Merlin had done it before. Merlin stopped acting like he was drunk then and related the magical part of the story. The headmaster listened to them quietly.

When they finished, the old wizard waved his fingers and finally lit the room. It was one of few spells he could do wandlessly and it'd taken him a long time to learn to manage it even on this basic level. Sometimes he envied the ease with which Merlin could bend magic to his will. He did it so naturally and without any effort.

The light made them all close their eyes, which had been used to the darkness. They blinked furiously, trying to adapt them to the new surrounding, but over a minute passed before they were able to open them without a paining sting. The headmaster's gaze finally found the spy's face and he murmured quietly, "Bartemius Crouch Jr. I haven't seen you in years."

He raised his gaze to Arthur and Merlin. "Thank you. Barty Crouch Jr is a very dangerous man. He was a Deatheater and was sentenced to Azkaban. I fear what would have happened if you hadn't caught him. I am in your debt."

Merlin grinned happily, "It's nothing. We are glad we could help."

Dumbledore smiled back, "But I'm sure that you are exhausted. You should go back to your dorms and get some sleep. I need to take him to the Ministry for the interrogation. Good night." He took Crouch's arm and they disappeared with a click of the air.

Arthur and Merlin gaped at the empty space where the professor had stood only seconds ago.

"Does it seem to you that he just treated us like some bloody kids?"

Merlin nodded and they gaped some more.

 

*********

 

"I can't believe that you didn't tell us! You even lied to us!"

"Harry, calm down," Hermione tried to put her hand on his arm, but Harry started to pace in the little space of Arthur's bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Harry. It's my fault. I convinced Arthur to lie to you. I just wanted to protect you." Merlin said guiltily, but without regret. If he had to choose again, he would have done exactly the same thing. But now he had to face Harry's anger and Ron's sulking. Thankfully, Hermione and Arthur were on his side.

"You didn't have the right to hide it from us! You agreed to take us with you!" Harry stopped and glared furiously at Merlin.

"Harry, I think that-" Hermione tried, but she was interrupted by Arthur, who was in his eleven year old body again.

"We did what we thought was best for you and we will not apologize for protecting you." Arthur's voice was harsh at first, but then his expression softened, "I know you feel excluded, but this needed to be done. We couldn't take you with us to fight with one of the best Aurors around. It was too dangerous." He looked Harry in the eyes. "You have to understand that as a king I always felt obligated to protect people, even if they weren't my subordinates. Merlin on the other hand hates to see his friends hurt. It's deep in our nature and nothing can change that. You can either accept our protectiveness or hate us for it, but that's the way we are."

Arthur's words hit Harry hard and he blushed, ashamed of his little tantrum. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

Merlin stopped him with a gesture. "It's alright. Just try to look at the situation from our point of view in the future before you start shouting."

Harry nodded and smiled weakly, "So… are we good?"

Arthur and Merlin exchanged glances and then Merlin beamed, "Of course we're good."

Suddenly, the door opened and an excited Henry ran into the room, smiling like a madman and waving with something in his hand. He was rambling the whole time. "Arthur, there you are! I was searching for you for ages and you're hidden in our room? I can't believe I didn't think about this place before! But it doesn't matter, because I found you, didn't I? Look! See? What do you think? It's great, isn't it? My mum sent it to me! It arrived with the morning mail! Oh, and did you hear that Moody won't be teaching us for the rest of the year? I heard that he was ill. I'm afraid we will get Snape instead. I don't want to get Snape. Do you think we will?"

Arthur stared at him through the whole speech, trying to make any sense of it, but he failed spectacularly. When Henry finally had to take a breath, he said quickly, "Slow down. What did you hear about Moody again?"

"He is said to have some illness. Because of it he can't teach us for the last two months of the school year. I don't know who will replace him, but I think it may be Snape." Henry grimaced. Snape hated him because of his talkativeness that didn't stop even during classes. The possibility of having to spend more time with the teacher didn't seem very tempting to the boy.

Arthur nodded, finally understanding. "Ok, and what did you get from your mother? I couldn't see it when you waved it at the speed of light."

The smile came back to Henry's face. He held out his hand so they could clearly see the silver object. It was round and small, about the size of a snitch, but flat. It had a blue stone in the centre and was attached to a chain.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hermione asked with wonder.

"It's a dynamometer of magic! You need to put it on your neck. When you do spells, the stone emits light. The stronger the magic is the stronger it shines. It's used to perfect spells. Do you want to try it out? We can go to the orchards. Come on!" And with that he grabbed Arthur's hand and started to pull him out of the room. Arthur looked at Merlin, silently screaming for help.

The warlock waved him goodbye with his biggest smile. "Have fun!"

"When I get back, _Marvin_ -!" But Arthur didn't finish the threat, because Henry closed the door.


	9. The Dynamometer Of Magic

Merlin smiled as Arthur was dragged out of the room by an excited Henry, who couldn't wait to show him his new toy. The Golden Trio had fond smiles under their noses as well. Despite not knowing the king for a very long time, it was obvious even to them that Arthur liked the boy as much as Henry liked him. The blond was too prideful to admit it, just like he wouldn't with Merlin, but it was easy to read the affection in his bright blue eyes. Right now, Merlin could clearly see that Arthur was genuinely curious about the dynamometer.

When they were gone, Merlin, Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to their interrupted conversation. The teenagers spent the next half an hour interrogating the warlock, who had to explain in detail what had happened at the clearing and in the headmaster's office. When Merlin finished, Hermione sighed with relief.

"So it's over? You Know Who won't rise again? We defeated him?" Her words were originally meant to be statements, but they sounded more like questions.

"I think so. We have certainly changed the course of the events, but to be sure I'd have to look into the crystals of the Crystal Cave," Merlin frowned. He hated looking into the future. It never brought anything good. This time however he would push himself to do so. The situation was too dire to not use every source of information they could find. "I'll try to go there in a few weeks' time."

"But the Third Task is in less than two weeks!" Ron exclaimed, worried about Harry.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Merlin snapped, the fear for Harry making him nervous as well. He pinched his nose to calm himself, a gesture he'd caught from Arthur, but it only helped a bit. He started to pace. "I'd go there even tonight, but right now everyone knows that there was a Death Eater in Hogwarts. They are scared and suspicious. Dumbledore won't be able to help this time and I won't be able to sneak out with all the teachers around," he sighed. In Camelot the guards had been much easier to fool. "I'll check the Triwizard Cup and the arena the Task will take place in, and I'll make sure that they aren't enchanted. There is nothing more I can do right now. Sorry."

"Will that be enough?" Ron still wasn't convinced.

"It's ok, Ron. I believe that Merlin will do everything he can to keep me safe," Harry smiled surely. Merlin answered with a weak smile, overwhelmed by the trust Harry put in him. Hermione seemed to notice his discomfort.

"Thank you for explaining everything to us and for your honesty. We really appreciate that you didn't lie to comfort us as many adults would do," she smiled, "But we have to get going. We haven't finished the Potion essay that Snape assigned to us on Monday. Ron hasn't even started it."

Ron looked at her with offence written on his face, "Oi! I did start it!"

"Three sentences doesn't count, Ronald. That's why we have to go to the library so I can watch you write it all today."

"But tomorrow's Sunday!" Ron tried to argue, but when Hermione sent him a glare, he stayed silent. Pleased by the small victory, Hermione smiled for the last time to Merlin and left with Ron following her like a sad puppy.

"Sometimes I think that she is truly evil," Harry muttered and went after his friends, leaving Merlin alone.

The warlock sat on Arthur's bed, still grinning at the scene that had just played before him. Hermione could be a witch even without using magic. He was glad that she had assumed that he had already done all his homework, because he was sure that she would have taken him to the library as well.

He laid on the bed, feeling the exhaustion finally catching up with him. He had barely slept last night, too shaken by the fight with Barty Crouch Jr. He couldn't believe what had happened and what would be the consequences of such events. Now, when Hermione had said it aloud, he realized that she was right. It was over. He and Arthur had defeated the spy and the Dark Lord wouldn't return.

He knew that he couldn't be sure yet, but he had a feeling that he was right. He let his body relax. The fear of Voldemort's rebirth, that he constantly felt in a corner of his mind ever since he had the vision, disappeared. He closed his eyes and, even before he noticed, he fell asleep.

 

*********

 

He was woken by quick footsteps and a bang of the door, followed by a loud groan from Henry, "Arthur! Come on! Give it back!" Merlin groaned as well, still in a sleepy haze and annoyed by the boys. He put a pillow over his head to muffle the noises.

"If you want it back, you have to take it from me!" Arthur laughed, far too loud for Merlin's taste. More steps disturbed the silence. Then there were some strange noises that Merlin couldn't put his finger on.

Curious and now fully awake, the warlock took the pillow off his head to look at the two. Arthur was standing in the middle of the room with his arm stretched high above his head with the silver necklace from before in it. The shorter boy was trying to get his toy back from the blond, but with the four inch difference between them, he had no chance of succeeding.

At first, Merlin assumed that Arthur wanted to behave like a prat again and have a bit of fun of the poor boy, but then he noticed the genuine smile on the King's face. He saw that Henry's lips twitched in response. Arthur wasn't bullying the boy; they were playing in some sort of game. The warlock smiled; Arthur was really turning into a child.

Merlin's attention was caught by a sudden movement. Henry did something that Arthur hadn't expected. He jumped. Arthur looked surprised for a brief moment, but then he reacted, taking a step back and walking out of Henry's reach. He laughed again. "Me- Marvin, catch!" he corrected himself quickly, so Henry didn't notice the slip and swung his arm. A moment later a heavy metal object hit the warlock in his chest.

For a second Merlin's thoughts circled around the fact that Arthur was being a clotpole, unwillingly involving him in that silly game. Then he noticed a weak light that started to light inside the blue stone placed in the center of Henry's toy. Merlin remembered the description that Henry had given them a few hours earlier. The toy was built to react to the use of magic. Magic that flew constantly through the warlock's veins together with blood.

Merlin grabbed the necklace, wanting to throw it of off himself, but it was too late. The stone was radiating a cold bluish light, now too bright to be left unnoticed by the others. Bewildered, Merlin looked at the two and saw them staring back at him. Henry's brows were furrowed; confusion was clear on his face. Arthur's expression was entirely different. His eyes were widened in shock, his panic matching Merlin's.

Merlin's magic reacted to his fear and reared up to the surface, too fast to be silenced by the warlock in time. The stone responded instantly; the light grew impossibly bright, blinding them all. Merlin covered his eyes with his free arm instinctively, the movement reminding him that he still held the object. He quickly threw it on the floor. The light faded, but it was much too late.

They all stared at each other, frozen by shock. Dark stocomas danced before their eyes, slowly fading into nothing.

Henry was first to shake off the surprise. "What was that? I've never seen it shining so brightly!"

Merlin moved his gaze off Arthur to the boy. It took him a moment to grasp the meaning behind his words. It was only due to the years he had spent lying that he was able to answer. "How can you be sure? You only got it today. Maybe it sometimes shines without a reason."

"Yeah, but I saw it in a shop before. The shop assistant said that it would never shine without a source of magic. She demonstrated it for me with _lumos_ and she wasn't able to light it halfway so bright with such a simple spell. And you didn't even _do_ anything, you just touched it."

Merlin's heartbeat jumped even more. "Maybe it's broken then."

"But Arthur and I played with it for hours and nothing happened. Well, not _nothing_ , but it worked just fine," Henry insisted a bit shyly, self conscious from the attention he was receiving from the both of them, but his voice was full of conviction.

The boy was intelligent. He easily saw through Merlin's attempts to hide the truth. How could he lie himself out of this situation? Arthur wasn't helping, standing still and staring at them with wide eyes.

Merlin's brain was frantically searching for possible ways of explaining what had happened, but he found none. He looked at Arthur with a silent plea to say something. Arthur noticed his expression too slowly. Henry saw the exchange and was about to ask them about it, but Arthur finally found his voice. "I might have squeezed it too tightly. You know, when I took it from you just now. And I threw it at Merlin; it could have broken because of the hit too."

Merlin smiled, more calm now, "Yeah, I think it was the hit. It started to shine just after it."

Arthur made an apologetic face. "Sorry about that. I'll pay you back for it, ok?"

In a different situation Merlin would have been pissed at him by the ease with which he used others' money, namely, _Merlin's_ money. Right now however he was just relieved that they had found a way to convince Henry that the accident had nothing to do with the warlock.

But Henry's answer surprised them both. It had nothing to do with the dynamometer, but it made their blood run cold. "Why did you call Marvin 'Merlin'?"

"Did I? I must have slipped. It's easy to mistake those two names, and with all the Merlin swears-" Arthur tried, but he was interrupted by the boy.

"You never swear by Merlin's name. Every time someone uses it, you shudder. What's going on, Arthur?"

The silence that came after that question was so heavy that it could be cut with a knife. Finally, Merlin lowered his gaze and muttered, "Idiot."

The warlock was too loud and Arthur heard him. He sent him a furious glare and growled, "Do you think it's easy? I have to change your name every time I want to say it!"

Merlin answered with equally hard look. "You had one thing, _one thing!_ , to say and you messed it up!"

Luckily, Henry interfered, before they could get angrier. "Hey, calm down! Take a deep breath and calm down," he told them weakly, his voice faltering, but they listened. When the anger disappeared from their faces, the boy asked again, "What's going on? And, please, don't lie this time."

Merlin sighed. He knew that they had no other choice but to tell the truth. He looked at Arthur meaningfully. The king nodded and said, "Ok, but don't freak out. Do you remember the ghost who appeared after the Second Task?"

"Yes, but what does he have to do with this?"

"It was me," Arthur confessed. After a beat, he continued, "I was kind of resurrected. My real name is Arthur Pendragon, the king of Camelot. And that's Merlin. The Merlin, I mean."

A pregnant silence met his words. Then Henry surprised them again.

"That's so cool!" he beamed. Then he asked with a huge smile and his usual puppy eyes, "Does the fact I know who you are mean that I can sit with you during meals now?"


	10. The Third Task

The warm afternoon of 24th June found Merlin wandering through the tricky passages of the maze the Third Task was meant to take place in. The weak light of the sun, that hung low on the bright blue sky, couldn't break through the thick walls of the hedge. Darkness was embracing the labyrinth, not wanting to acknowledge that the night was yet to come. Only sometimes a sunbeam broke through the walls built of magical plants, painting a passage gold. The warlock had to light his way with a ball of conjured light to see where he took his steps.

The competition was starting in less than an hour, but Merlin took his time. He was walking slowly through the entire labyrinth, half-heartedly tracing his position on a map, which he had gotten from Dumbledore the previous day.

His mind was concentrated on the magic around him, trying to find a spell that felt different from other traps, which had been placed there by the masters of the Tournament. Those obstacles were relatively easy to spot, even if they didn't have the familiar signature that Merlin knew from the earlier Tasks. He guessed that the change was due to the new people who replaced Bartemius Crouch Sr. and Alastor Moody. When a judge had sentenced Barty Crouch Jr. to the kiss of a Dementor, his father resigned from his position. Mad-Eye was still recovering from his imprisonment.

Merlin was looking for magic that was darker than the normal traps, magic that made his bones chill and his heart freeze. He knew this because he had already taken down one of such spells. It had been put on one of the creatures lurking in the darkness. Which one, Merlin didn't know, because he took the spell down from a safe distance and left as soon as he was sure that his counter-enchantment had been effective. The dark spell bore a weak, but distinctive signature of magic that belonged to Barty Crouch Jr. Merlin didn't know how it got there, but he was glad that he was able to neutralize it. Fortunately, it seemed that the Death Eater hadn't had the time to place more curses.

Now Merlin was finishing his second walk through the thousands of turns and dead ends, just to be sure he hadn't left anything behind. It was a tiring and dangerous task, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. And, when he thought about it, it wasn't so bad. He certainly liked it more than sitting and waiting for the unknown, which he was sure Harry was doing right now.

Merlin sighed and continued to the centre of the maze, where he knew he would find the Triwizard Cup. He had to examine it before the participants entered the arena.

 

*********

 

Harry had a good day. He spent it with Ron, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, who had come to cheer for him during the final Task. Harry noticed that other parents had come to see their sons and daughters as well. He recognized Cedric Diggory's mum and dad among the adults.

Before lunch, Ron introduced Arthur, Merlin and Henry to Mrs. Weasley. She was happy to meet the new friends of her son. At first, they were a bit intimidated by her, but they quickly warmed up. No one could resist the charm of Molly Weasley. During the meal, she listened with an interest to Henry's ranting and she fed Merlin with everything that was on the table. She decided that she had to fatten him up, because he was "too bony, dear, don't you eat anything at all?". The teenagers watched with amusement as she put a mountain of food on the poor warlock's plate. Apparently, she decided to take him, Henry and Arthur under her wings, just like she had done with Harry and Hermione four years ago.

After lunch, Merlin disappeared, saying that there was something he had to do.

Arthur and Henry stayed with them though. Soon, they were all laughing at the silly stories told by Henry. Harry had such great fun that he didn't have time to worry. It was only during dinner that he finally started to get nervous.

Merlin came back in the middle of the meal. He seemed to be exhausted, but he was smiling brightly. In a low voice, so Mrs. Weasley couldn't hear him, he reassured Harry that he had taken care of everything.

Harry sighed with relief, "Thank you. Was it hard to search through the arena? Do you think I can win? "

However, before Merlin could answer, Dumbledore, Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff stood up, silencing the students. Dumbledore cleared his throat and announced, "As you all know, today is the final day of the Triwizard Tournament. Right now, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter, both from Hogwarts, are _ex aequo_ in first place. Viktor Krum from Dumstrang takes second place. Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons is in third position. After this Task, we will announce the winner of the 125th Triwizard Tournament, ***** " he paused.

"Now, please, let's all go to the Quidditch Pitch, which was converted into the arena. Participants, please, follow Mr. Bagman. He is to explain to you the rules of this Task. Good luck with finding the Cup, but be careful. You might just lose yourself along the way. ***** "

 

*********

 

Harry was running. His breathing was too fast and too heavy; his lungs burned and his legs ached, but he couldn't stop.

He didn't hear anything from behind him, but he knew that it meant nothing. The creature was there, just a few feet behind and it was getting closer and closer. It was going to get him, and it was going to do so soon. _Great_ , he thought, _you are going to lose because of a giant spider. Just great._

He had already dealt with Pixies, a Boggart, an odd golden mist, a Blast-Ended Skrewt, which had eliminated Viktor Krum from the competition, and even a Sphinx *****. He was so close to the Cup, he knew it. But between him and winning stood the Acromantula. And he didn't know how to fight it; his spells had done nothing besides angering the creature.

He felt a pair of long, hairy legs gripping his angle, twisting it. A sharp pain spread from his foot through his entire body as he fell to the ground. He hit his head and the world started to dance before his eyes. He tried to crawl away, but the Acromantula raised him into the air by his injured leg. Harry reached for his wand with shaky, unsteady fingers and he took it out, almost losing it because of his weak grip. He pointed it at the head of the spider and cried, " _Stupefy!_ ", but the spell did nothing. He closed his eyes, waiting for the strike.

"Harry!" He heard someone screaming. A high voice with strange accent. He opened his eyes to see Fleur Delacour looking at him with horror, raising her arm and yelling the same spell as he had used seconds before. With a new hope lighting up his heart, he joined her and their spells mixed. The doubled force was enough to hurt the creature. It let Harry go and fell on the ground next to him, petrified.

Fleur ran to him and helped him up. "Thank you," he muttered, a bit confused. Why was she helping him? She could have left him and not endangered herself. She would have had one competitor less.

She had to notice his wary expression, because she smiled and said with a thick French accent, "I owe you for helping my sister during the Second Task. Can you walk?"

Harry tried his leg, but it shook under him uncontrollably. The pain made him frown. "No, I don't think so." He waited for her to let him go and resume the race for the Cup, but she took his arm over her thin shoulders.

"Come on then. I'll help you."

"Why?"

She smiled again, "I told you. You helped my sister." Harry wanted to argue with her logic, because he hadn't done it to receive anything in return from her and she'd had already paid off her debt to him, but he let her be. Her expression told him that she wouldn't have listened to him, no matter what he said. His more selfish side was happy. He wouldn't have been able to continue without Fleur's support.

They walked in silence, turning into another path and then another. From time to time Harry used the Point Me spell to see if they were walking in the right direction. Their pace was slow, too slow. What would they do when they reached the Cup? Who would take it? Would they fight over it?

They took another turn and they saw a long, straight passage. In the middle of it stood a glass object. It was radiating a weak glow that grew stronger with every step they took. They had finally found the Triwizard Cup.

From the other side of the path Harry noticed a figure that was running in the direction of the Cup. Apparently, they had found Cedric as well. His brown hair was a mess, his arm bled and his robe was smoking faintly on his shoulder. He was much closer to the Cup than Harry and Fleur. Even without his hurt leg, Harry would have lost.

Cedric reached the Cup. He was about to take it, but he hesitated. His gaze wandered off to the two and then to Harry's injured leg. His wide-blown eyes told Harry that he hadn't noticed them before. He straightened himself and waited for them to come closer. Surprised, Harry yelled, "What are you waiting for?"

Cedric ignored his question. "What happened to you? Are you all right?"

Harry sent him a bewildered look. Fleur answered instead of him, "Acromantula. Harry hurt his leg while we were fighting with it." They finally reached the Cup.

"What are you waiting for? The Cup is yours. Take it," Harry said again. He was getting impatient. He genuinely wanted to win this competition and it seemed like Cedric was mocking him with his loss.

Cedric was silent for a long time. Harry was beginning to think that he wouldn't get his answer at all, but Cedric licked his lips and finally said, "I want you to take it with me." It seemed that saying it cost him a lot.

"Why?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. "You got it first. The Cup is yours," he repeated.

"I just… I don't feel as if I deserved it more than you. Harry, you helped me before the First Task. I'd lose without your help. And you, Fleur, you helped Harry."

"But I had help too," Harry defended his point, "And you told me about the egg."

"That's why I think we should take the Cup together. We all deserve it." Cedric's expression was stubborn.

"You and Harry do. I failed during the Second Task," Fleur smiled sadly. But Cedric was already shaking his head.

"You didn't get any help, as we did. And you helped Harry even when you didn't have to."

Fleur looked like she was going to argue, but she gave up and nodded. Harry, seeing their agreement, sighed, defeated, "Ok, let's do this." They reached for the Cup together. For a second nothing happened, but then Harry felt a familiar tug in his stomach and his blood froze. The Cup was a Portkey after all. Had Merlin failed?

But they landed before the entrance of the maze. Everything looked like it had when he and Cedric had left. The fear left his body. Everything was alright.

The crowd cheered and people started to rise and walk to them, helping them up and giving them their congratulations. Harry was almost strangled by the hug Mrs. Weasley gave him as she cried with joy, "You won, Harry, I'm so proud of you!"

The booming voice of Albus Dumbledore broke through the commotion. "I announce Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter the Champions of the 125th Triwizard Tournament. Mrs. Fleur Delacour and Mr. Viktor Krum take second place. Congratulations!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Taken from Harry Potter wiki.
> 
> * "Find the Cup, but be careful. You might just lose yourself along the way." - an original quote from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film.
> 
> *I added pixies, because Harry doesn't have the protection of Barty Crouch Jr., who helped him to reach the Cup in the book. He had to have more difficulties than there.


	11. Coming Home

The rest of the school year passed in the blink of an eye. The whole school felt different now that the Tournament was over.

The guests from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang went home after a big ball celebrating the end of the Triwizard Tournament. There was tons of food, speeches from the Headmasters and dancing. All the champions had to participate in a ceremonial dance again, which was as much a disaster as it had been the first time. It was decided that they had to have the same partners as during the Yule Ball. The tense atmosphere of the Christmas party returned for awhile.

Harry was sulking because he didn't get another chance to ask Cho Chang, who seemed to like the idea of going out with Cedric Diggory far too much, if you asked him.

Ron couldn't ask Hermione, because she was Viktor Krum's partner. Fleur Delacour, who would have definitely said yes, wasn't an option either. In the end, the red-headed boy had to ask Padma Patil again. She agreed only because she wanted to attend.

Arthur felt excluded. He was in the first year and therefore couldn't go. As the king, he'd always enjoyed feasts, so staying behind was the last thing he wanted to do. Watching Merlin being asked out numerous times certainly didn't help, even if the warlock always declined.

Merlin, annoyed by Arthur's childish behavior, tried to soothe him by promising not to go and stay with him, but it only worsened Arthur's mood and led to a small row between them. In the end, Arthur stayed in his dormitory teaching Henry to play dices and Merlin locked himself in his room with _Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring_ borrowed from his roommate.

Harry and Ron escaped from the ball as soon as the first dance was over, leaving the Patil sisters behind. Hermione didn't join them though. She stayed to the very end of the party and, as she informed them happily later, had a really good time, which annoyed Ron to no end.

Arthur and Merlin made up during breakfast the following day when Merlin offered Arthur a piece of cake and Arthur called Merlin a big girl.

The foreign students left after breakfast.

Without them, the school was emptier. You could no longer hear the thick French accent nor the heavy Bulgarian one while passing through the corridors. No colorful robes cut out from the black sea of Hogwarts' uniforms.

Without any other attractions the students concentrated on learning for the exams, going back to their usual daily routines.

Snape did indeed get the position of the DADA teacher, but there was no one to take his Potions classes from him so he had to teach both subjects. However, his schedule was too full for him to teach the DADA classes of all the years, so he only took the fifth and seventh years. They were the most important, because they were taking OWLs and NEWTs this year. The rest of the students had Self Study sessions when they would usually have Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

Around that time Dumbledore told Merlin that because he hadn't been in Hogwarts last year and hadn't taken his OWLs, he would need to do so now. The warlock was against it, thinking that it would attract too much attention to him, but Dumbledore disagreed saying that it was necessary for keeping up pretences. Merlin wouldn't have minded, but it meant he had to join the fifth years during their DADA lessons.

So, while Arthur, Henry, Ron, Harry and Hermione had more free time, Merlin had to work hard under the Snape's piercing gaze. It wasn't that he didn't know what to do; he'd gathered a lot of experience and knowledge on both the subjects during his long life, but even he trembled with nerves when he felt Snape's eyes on his hands while brewing a potion, practicing a spell or writing an essay.

Then came the OWL exams. Merlin didn't study for them as much as the others; he didn't really need to. He just looked through the textbooks, committing the more useful spells he could use to his memory.

The hardest part was passing the exams with good, but not perfect results. He was really tempted to have all Outstandings, just to tease Arthur with them the next time the king called him a crappy wizard, but he managed to resist it. It would bring too much attention to him. He was pretending to be an average student with average grades, so sudden perfect results could cause him trouble or even lead to his exposure.

He mostly got Exceeds Expectations, but he ended up doing too well in History of Magic and Potions, where he got the highest grades.

As he'd predicted, all that Arthur said when he heard about his results was, "You are supposed to be the greatest wizard to live _ever_ , and you got only two Outstandings? You oaf."

 

*********

 

The end of the school year came too soon and, at the same time, not soon enough. The students didn't want to part with their friends but, after the exciting and emotional year, they all wanted to go home. The exhaustion caused by studying for the final exams was easy to spot even on the faces of the students who usually didn't bother themselves with working very hard.

Harry seemed to be the only one who wanted nothing more but to stay in Hogwarts.

The last feast, preceded by a speech from Professor Dumbledore, was full of enthusiastic talking. The happiest were the Ravenclaws, who had won the House Cup. It was the main topic of conversation between the very excited or very disappointed first years. The older students were mostly unimpressed by the award. They didn't even touch the topic, preferring much more to share their plans for the holidays with their friends. Some were still excited over the Tournament and many girls gossiped about the ball.

Soon, the talking moved to the carriages that took them to the Hogsmeade station. In their group only Arthur and Merlin could see the thestrals that moved the vehicles forward.

The conversations died out as they reached the station. Seeing the train made the students finally realize that they had survived yet another year of school. Slowly, they got into the train in silence disturbed only by hushed whispers and took their seats.

Arthur was mesmerized by the magnificent machine. During their few months in Hogwarts, Merlin had explained to him all the basics of the modern world and even showed him pictures, some of which had been moving. Arthur thought himself well-informed about the new reality he had been thrown into, especially considering the circumstances, but in Hogwarts he couldn't see many Muggles', as the wizards called the non-magical people, devices. Knowing that something existed certainly wasn't the same as seeing it. The king spent most of the journey looking around the compartment and out of the window, trying to catch any sights of the civilization. The others let him be and left him out of the conversation.

A couple of hours later the train arrived at King's Cross. The students walked out on the platform 9 ¾, in a rush to greet their parents.

It was time to go their separate ways. Henry waved them a goodbye and ran to his parents. Then Mr. and Mrs. Wesley came to say hello. Merlin and Arthur greeted them politely, but as soon as an opening appeared, namely their attention being caught by Harry and congratulating him for winning the Tournament, the two quickly said their goodbyes and left with a promise to stay in touch with the Golden Trio during the holidays. It wasn't that they didn't like the Wesleys, quite the contrary, but they had a strong feeling that they were intruding on a family reunion.

"Where to now?" Merlin wondered out loud as soon as they were at a safe distance from the others.

"I think I've got an idea." And Arthur pulled the warlock towards what seemed to be the exit, excited to see the flying machines Merlin called 'planes'.

 

*********

 

When Merlin finally convinced Arthur that "no, we are _not_ going to Heathrow to see planes today, for God's sake!" they ended up taking a tube to Merlin's flat. Seeing the underground for the first time left Arthur satisfied enough to let Merlin have his way. For now, at least.

During their short journey the warlock explained that while he hadn't exactly had his own place before he had the vision and had lived by travelling from town to town when he wasn't staying in the Crystal Cave, which was more often than not, he had bought one before entering Hogwarts. He needed to have an address where the headmaster could write an answer to his letter about transferring him into the school. He purchased a flat with some money he'd put aside in his bank account decades ago. Over the years it had conveniently grown into a quite large amount.

Merlin's flat was one of dozens in a block in a suburb of London. They walked up the stairs to the fourth floor. The door was almost identical to the ones of the neighboring flats. Without Merlin, Arthur would have problems finding it and even the warlock seemed to take a second to recognize the right one.

After checking if there was anyone around, Merlin opened the door with a quick spell and they walked inside.

Arthur was expecting anything from Merlin but what he saw. He could picture him in cozy rooms full of personal belongings, a messy place with everything just laying around, similar to Merlin's room in Camelot. Or a tasteless flat reflecting Merlin's fashion sense, which seemed to be mostly based on wearing clothes that neither match nor fit.

Instead, Arthur was welcomed by emptiness. He walked around the flat to see if it was only the small hall, but his tiny hope was shattered in pieces by what he found. In each room stood nothing but the most important furniture. The bedroom was recognizable only by the bed in it, because it was the only thing inside. The living room was empty except of a pile of cardboard boxes in a corner. The whole flat was just… lifeless. Exactly not what Arthur would expect of Merlin.

"Why does it look like an abandoned place?" the king mused. It was nothing like his dormitory in Hogwarts.

Merlin shrugged, "Well, I moved in like a week before the school year started. I didn't bother with unpacking, because I didn't think it would be my place for long."

"I like it. We can stay here, but it needs a few improvements," Arthur decided.

Merlin frowned at the king's prattish behavior, "Oh, I'm so glad Your Highness thinks so well of my humble flat."

"That's exactly what I meant," Arthur said, ignoring Merlin's sarcastic tone, "It's a flat. We need to make it a home."

 

*********

 

The next weeks passed by with furnishing and arranging the flat to their needs. Every now and then, they took a day off and Merlin spent it showing Arthur the modern world. The king enjoyed it immensely, getting excited over every little thing that anyone else would have dismissed as something obvious. Merlin couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun.

They both forgot that Merlin was supposed to visit the Crystal Cave.

 


	12. Actions&Consequences

It was five weeks after the start of the summer holidays. Merlin and Arthur were almost finished with buying the furniture for their flat and the place needed nothing more than a few final touches here and there.

Both of them were back in their adult bodies. It was much more a reasonable choice than staying in the young ones. Two teens living without parents certainly would have attracted some attention. Someone could have even called the police to check on them.

Living together as adults was safer. However, Merlin had a strong suspicion that at least some of their neighbors had jumped to the wrong conclusions. Whenever the two went out together, they received knowing looks. Conversations died down when they approached and started up again as soon as they were out of earshot. Merlin didn't know what the gossipers were talking about for sure, but he could easily guess from the odd looks and the amount of giggling involved. He had even been told by a couple of nice old ladies how good he and Arthur looked together.

The whole thing worried Merlin a bit, but not nearly enough to correct the gossips. He didn't want to miss the chance of seeing Arthur's face when he finally caught on.

The day was just like the others. Everything they did had become their new routine in the past few days. Merlin got up earlier and prepared breakfast, which they ate accompanied by the familiar banter. Then they took a quick shower each and decided that they wanted to devote that day to training. They couldn't afford to go rusty after all.

Well, it might have been more of Arthur's choice than Merlin's, but Merlin's opinion didn't count, really.

That's how they ended up a few hours later, exhausted both physically and magically, in the middle of the Forest of Dean, far away from any famous ancient landmarks or other places where Muggles could be found.

Merlin hadn't been so tired in centuries. He'd forgotten how hard the training sessions with Arthur were, and the king had wanted them not only to spar with swords, but also practice a few scenarios with magic. Merlin didn't argue, remembering only too well their mismatched battle with Bartemius Crouch Jr. and how they had been out of tune.

The beginning was a nightmare. They weren't compatible in a slightest.

Merlin had always stood in the shadows. When they had previously fought together, Arthur was still oblivious to his magic, so the warlock used the simplest and most undetectable spells he knew. What they did now was something completely unfamiliar.

Arthur wasn't used to thinking about magic like a support rather than an obstacle, if not the enemy, and additionally he didn't know most of Merlin's spells. Lessons in Hogwarts had given him more understanding of magic as a whole, but the Old Magic remained a mystery to him.

At the beginning, Arthur tried to give Merlin commands, like he had done with his knights in Camelot. He hadn't taken into account the warlock's issues with taking orders. Needless to say, it didn't end well for him. After that failure they tried to find a common language of their fighting styles.

They knew each other well enough to predict the other's next moves, but they needed to practice their use of that knowledge, to learn how and when give the other space to move freely. They could reach their full potential only with hard training and gaining more experience, but they had a solid base to build on. They believed in each other unconditionally and didn't fear trusting the other with their lives.

After a few hours of training, having stopped only to eat their lunch and drink some water, they started to feel the rhythm.

It was getting dark when they went back home. With no strength left, they decided to have a take away for dinner and changed into fresh clothes after washing off the forest mud.

They ate their Chinese curry chicken while watching a replay of Doctor Who. Arthur wolfed down his serving like he hadn't eaten in a week and made fun of Merlin, who had difficulties eating with chopsticks.

It was a day like many others.

Until the Old Religion screamed in agony, crying over a tear in the Balance of the Life and Death. Merlin felt as if the whole world shrunk into that scream. He could hear Arthur's worried voice, barely audible through the terrible shriek, could feel a pair of strong hands locked on his trembling arms and see blond hair over a pair of blue eyes now widened in fear, before it became too much and the warlock collapsed.

 

*********

 

Harry put his jacket on and walked out of Dursleys' house. He couldn't stand being with them and their prejudices against wizards any longer. He needed to clear his head before he did something reckless and simply stupid.

It was already dusk. The shadows darkened together with the disappearance of the sun, but no stars were out to see. The weak, white glow of the thin moon sitting low on the dark blue sky reminded everyone who cared to look up that the time of its disappearance was coming near. Cold, evening wind ran through the street, making the trees dance.

Harry buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket and started to walk. He didn't know where; he just needed to get as far from the nightmare that was his closest family as he could. He focused on the beat of his feet on the pavement, calming himself from the annoyance created by the Dursleys' idiocy. With every step he could feel the familiar weight of his wand in the back pocket of his jeans.

He had been on edge for the last few days, receiving no reply from Hermione, Ron or Merlin and Arthur. Hermione was abroad with her parents, sunbathing in Australia and the messages from her took a long time to travel, especially if she sent them by owls. Ron seemed to be busy with his numerous siblings, aunts and uncles. He'd mentioned having a family gathering sometime around now. And Arthur and Merlin, Harry guessed, were enjoying their time together, finally just the two of them.

Harry couldn't stop a sting of jealousy deep in his heart when he thought about his friends. _Only three years more_ , he told himself, _only three years and you will be free._

The wind blew again and Harry turned his head in its direction. It was only due to that he was able to notice a dark shadow walking out from an alley before him. He startled, having not expected to see anyone, and turned his head to get a better view.

Halfway through his movement, he had to throw his body to the left, barely avoiding a stream of red light that had flown from the shadow's wand a second before.

Harry took out his wand and screamed an _expelliarmus_ spell. It was an instant, reflex reaction at being attacked created by four years at Hogwarts; he hadn't even thought about casting any enchantment.

He missed by an inch.

He glued his eyes to the Death Eater, waiting for their next move, ready to duck at any moment if a spell was sent back at him. His whole body tensed; adrenaline pumped loudly in his veins with every heartbeat.

He was too focused to notice the second person in black behind him. When he heard the whispered spell, it was already too late. He felt the spell hitting him in the centre of his back and then all was pain. He welcomed the darkness like a good friend, fainting before he hit the ground.

 

*********

 

The first thing he knew when he regained consciousness was a consuming, pulsing pain coming from the scar on his forehead. In the background, he heard someone talking, then a muffled scream broke out of somebody's throat.

Harry was in a sitting position; his back was rested on something cold and hard. _A stone_ , he thought. He could feel his limbs being restrained by some kind of ropes. He couldn't move.

Something near him moved and Harry opened his eyes, bewildered. His pupils dilated in response to the weak shine of the moon, which was the only source of light.

He saw a graveyard. The dark shape of a statue of a grim reaper stood tall above him. Thick dark cords prevented him from any movement. A few yards before him, between the graves, stood a boiling cauldron surrounded by a black circle of Death Eaters.

The person who had awakened him proved to be Wormtail, who was walking in Harry's direction. His left hand was missing; Pettigrew held the handless forearm tight to his chest. The blood dripping off the stump told Harry that the wound was fresh. The muffled scream the boy had heard just before regaining his full consciousness must have been Wormtail's.

Now that Harry could see his surroundings he recognized the place; he had seen it in his dreams and it bore a resemblance to the description of Merlin's vision, which the warlock had seen in the Crystal Cave.

Wormtail stopped before him. Then, without any warning, he slowly dragged the blade of a blunt knife down Harry's forearm, twisting it cruelly and drawing a hot stream of blood. He smiled sickeningly and said quietly as if in awe, "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."*

He walked quickly to the cauldron and poured a few drops of Harry's blood into it. The potion sparked and a sharp twinge of pain pierced Harry through his lightning-shaped scar. The boy's vision blackened for a moment.

When he could see again the cauldron was already gone. Now in the middle of the circle of Death Eaters stood a pale person in black. Next to him, Peter Pettigrew threw himself on his knees. "My Lord," he whispered.

Another wave of pain emitted from Harry's scar as if in acknowledgement of Wormtail's words. Lord Voldemort had just been resurrected.

 

*********

 

Merlin woke with a gasp. Next to him Arthur startled and quickly walked to him, worry marking his brow with a frown. "Merlin! Are you ok? What the hell happened?"

Merlin's mind slowly came back to reality. The nightmare had been so vivid. It hadn't felt like a dream at all. More like a vision. But he had never experienced a vision of the future without any help from a magical crystal. He was no Seer. He could only see the present. Merlin's eyes widened in realization and he jumped up.

He almost ran into the worried Arthur. The king caught his arm, helping him regain his balance. "Merlin, you shouldn't get up yet!"

Arthur's words fell on deaf ears. Merlin was too busy considering every choice he had.

He could tell Arthur what was going on. He was tired after the whole-day-long practice and the vision had drained the rest of the strength he possessed. He knew Arthur would make a great support in the oncoming encounter.

But Arthur was even more exhausted than the warlock. His moves were slower and less careful than normal. Merlin didn't even plan on fighting with the Death Eaters or Voldemort; he just wanted to take Harry and get the hell out of there. Arthur would only be in the way and Merlin was used to doing things on his own.

The decision was made in a split second. Merlin ran around Arthur and stopped by the doorway, putting on his converses in a record time. He ignored Arthur's next questions, even as they became more and more urgent. He finally pulled the shoes on and offered a breathless "Wait here!" to the king before Apparating to the graveyard.

 

*********

 

The scene looked only too similar to what he had seen before. The circle of Death Eaters was now split into a loose arc, watching the duel before them. In the cacophony of spells they had missed the cracking sound of Apparition. Merlin hid behind a grave and followed the gaze of the black figures to the dueling pair.

Voldemort was fighting with Harry. Merlin noticed that the boy looked sickeningly pale. His limbs trembled from fear and weariness; dark blood was dripping from his left arm. The Dark Lord, on the other hand, looked smug. He was enjoying the sight of the defenseless boy, playing cat and mouse with him; taking his time defeating him.

Merlin knew he couldn't wait any longer. He quickly put up a shield of the Old Religion and started to run towards the two. The Death Eaters finally noticed the intruder and a wave of red and green spells flew his way, but the shield bounced them all away.

Merlin didn't stop until he was behind Harry. He grabbed the boy's arm, making a shiver of fear run down Harry's back. He must have thought it was another enemy, but he didn't try to run. He didn't have the strength to; he was barely standing because of the shock and the blood loss.

"Shh, it's just me. It's gonna to be ok. I'll take you from here," Merlin whispered reassuringly and the boy leaned on him with relief, only half-conscious, but recognizing Merlin's voice.

There was a loud hiss and the warlock looked up to meet surprise in the lizard eyes of Voldemort. The Dark Lord quickly shook off the feeling and raised his wand, screaming " _Avada Kedavra!"_

Merlin didn't want to fight, not in his state and certainly not with Harry fainting in his arms. He started to chant an Old English teleporting spell. It was a dangerous one, much more so than Apparating, but he knew better than to mix the Old and New Magic together and he couldn't afford to take down the shield even for a moment.

Voldemort's deadly spell hit the shield just as he was finishing chanting. When the green light faded completely, Merlin sent his coldest smile to Voldemort, meeting his eyes in challenge just as his own flashed gold. Then the enchanted wind circled around them and they teleported into Merlin and Arthur's flat.

 

*********

 

Breath was blown out of his lungs as he hit the floor hard, protecting Harry from the fall with his own body. In the kitchen Arthur jumped in the middle of his pacing through the room. "What the hell?" the king demanded, helping Merlin take Harry's body off him."Why is he bleeding?!"

"Voldemort is back," Merlin's voice was so tired Arthur could barely make out the words.

"What?! How? Didn't we prevent that from happening?!"

Merlin shrugged, "It seems not. Just…" his voice broke, "just take care of his wounds, would you?"

Arthur looked like he wanted to argue, but before he could say anything more Merlin fainted as well, letting his head fall onto the wooden floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Taken from the original novel.


	13. The Letter

The kitchen was drowned in the shadows of the night. The weak light of a single candle tried to chase them off, but it wouldn't be able to fight the darkness for much longer. The wick was slowly but inevitably burning out.

Arthur's thoughts were as dark as the room. He was sitting by the kitchen table, waiting.

He had put an unconscious Merlin into the warlock's bed and laid Harry down, with a half-decently-bandaged hand, in his own room. The couch in the living room had been left free for him to use, but Arthur hadn't even tried to sleep.

He was exhausted by the training session he'd had with Merlin earlier. However, he knew he was too nervous to doze off.

Merlin had fainted before he could tell Arthur what had happened and it was driving the king mad. He didn't understand the situation he had been thrown into, but the few things he'd learned fretted him nonetheless.

The very thing that they had fought against with every strength they had had happened and there was nothing Arthur could do about it. Hermione had said it was over and Merlin'd agreed, but it had only been Destiny laughing in their faces. Arthur could feel his heart slowly drowning in hopelessness and helplessness, but there was a tiny light shining at the end of the tunnel of his dark thoughts. Arthur believed they still could handle this situation, stop Voldemort before it was too late.

With this hope, had Voldemort's return been the only thing bothering him, he would have been able to deal with those emotions, but deep down he felt an unfamiliar sting of hurt and disappointment. Yet again, even with the knowledge of every secret Merlin ever had, Arthur had been left behind. Arthur knew that Merlin had probably done that to protect him, but it didn't make coping with those feelings any easier.

He realized there was nothing he could do about Voldemort's return at the moment. He couldn't talk to Merlin to learn more about the situation now, nor could he tell him off for going without him. He couldn't even punch or throw anything like he always did when he was angry in fear of damaging something in their newly-furnished house.

So Arthur waited for Merlin and Harry to wake up and explain to him what was going on, hoping it would help him in finding himself in the new circumstances, until his head became too heavy and he fell asleep on the kitchen table.

 

*********

 

Something hit the floor with a bam. That was the thing Arthur noticed first. Then came the familiar ache of muscles that had stayed in an uncomfortable position for too long and, when he shifted slightly, the soreness caused by training too hard after a break.

There was even more noise and Arthur opened his eyes to send the intruder of his sleep a death glare. The light coming from a small window near the sink told him it was far too early to be even remotely conscious.

His hands travelled across the table, looking for an item suitable to throw at Merlin for waking him up, but they froze in place when Arthur's eyes met a mop of black hair and green eyes hidden behind round glasses.

Harry looked back at him, startled by the king's sudden movement, and froze as well. They stared at each other for a moment, before Harry shook off from the awkward situation. "Sorry I woke you up," he apologized weakly.

It made Arthur realize he was staring, so he quickly shifted his gaze. "Never mind. How are you feeling?"

Harry smiled and Arthur noticed his unusual paleness and the dark bags under his eyes. "I've been better." The boy closed his fingers on an item lying next to him on a kitchen worktop, sinking into his own thoughts and memories, but the unexpected movement caught Arthur's gaze.

On the worktop lay bandages, some bottles, a couple of salves and some stuff Arthur didn't recognize, but that were probably needed in taking care of an injury. The first aid kid was lying overturned next to the pile. Some of the bandages were unpacked from the foil. "Were you changing the dressing of the gash?"

"Yeah, I tried, but it isn't easy with only one hand," Harry sighed, "Besides, don't be so dramatic. It is but a scratch, not even a flesh wound," the boy laughed half-heartedly, and too high to sound normal. Arthur didn't join him, not understanding the joke. Instead, alarmed by the high note in the boy's voice, the king looked at Harry closely.

The distress and nervousness were evident on his face and his hands were trembling slightly. Arthur longed to know what had happened at the graveyard, but after seeing Harry's state, the king decided against talking about it now. It was apparent that the boy needed some space and time to calm down.

Arthur stood up and walked to him, "I'll help you."

He started to undress the wound and frowned at the badly wrapped bandages from before, now soaked with blood. "Sorry. I was the one who bandaged you and it should have been done better than this. Usually it's Merlin who takes care of such things. He was the Court Physician's apprentice in Camelot, you know," he continued to talk softly, hoping it would help Harry to snap out from the shock he was apparently still in.

Harry hissed from the pain when Arthur reached the end of the bandage, revealing the cut. It started to bleed again and Arthur was worried that Harry would need stitches. He didn't say anything about it through, leaving it to Merlin, who was more acquainted with treating wounds than him. Arthur quickly made sure the wound didn't show any signs of infection and wrapped it again tightly. Harry watched the whole process in silence.

When Arthur was done, Harry's belly made a loud rumble, making the king laugh. "We should eat something. How does cereal and toast sound? To be honest, those are the only things I can make," he ruffled his hair sheepishly.

Harry nodded and they both fell silent. Arthur prepared the breakfast and Harry sat by the table, deep in his thoughts again. It was clear that, despite Arthur's efforts, he still hadn't shaken off yesterday's events. Arthur didn't even try to imagine how much of a trauma it had to have been for the boy.

Soon, the food was ready and set before them. Arthur sat down and began to eat. It took him a while to notice that Harry didn't follow suit and was looking at his hands instead.

Arthur laid his spoon down and waited.

Finally, Harry asked with a small voice, "Where is Merlin? He wasn't hurt, was he? You know, when we were _there_."

Arthur looked at him seriously, and made his voice gentle when he said, "No, he's all right. He was just exhausted and needs to restore his energy. He should be up any minute, I think. Probably as soon as he smells the food," Arthur smiled reassuringly.

A soft chuckle came from the door and Merlin took a step forward, coming out of the shadow he had been standing in. "It's nice to know you think so highly of me, Your Majesty." Arthur frowned, hearing the mocking note in Merlin's words, and Arthur wanted _so_ much to respond to him in a similar manner, but he bit his tongue and said nothing. It wasn't the time for their usual banter.

Merlin seemed to notice his expression and didn't say anything more either. He sat down next to Harry and took himself a helping.

They ate in silence, letting it grow more and more uncomfortable by the second. When they were all done, Merlin put the dishes in the dishwasher and set it on. Then he quietly returned to his place at the table.

The weight of the silence was now overwhelming, but Arthur wasn't sure how to break it and he saw that Merlin was at a loss as well. Harry wasn't helping, not meeting their questioning gazes.

The king waited for Merlin to start the conversation. He had more tact and empathy, whereas Arthur felt that he would say something stupid as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Harry, I know it's hard, but can you tell us what happened yesterday before I arrived?" Merlin asked finally.

Harry tensed, but nodded. He looked up and Arthur noticed that his previously dull expression changed, showing strange determination. He sighed softly and began the story.

He talked quietly, stuttering and repeating himself at first. Merlin and Arthur had to conclude facts from his often unclear sentences and ask him to explain some of them, but as Harry went on his voice became steadier and more confident, his sentences more coherent.

When the boy finished, Merlin added his side of the story.

After the warlock fell silent, they all sat at the table for a few more minutes, each of them contemplating the consequences of the return of the Dark Lord. Then Merlin stood up abruptly, "I need to send an owl to Dumbledore." He jumped out of the room, leaving the two others in the kitchen.

Arthur watched him leave, then sighed and directed his gaze at Harry. He was still pale and his lips were pressed in a tight line, but looked better than when Arthur had changed the dressing of his wound. However, the king knew the expression on the boy's face. It was the look of a knight after his first battle, lost and terrified. Arthur stood up and walked to Harry, then placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"Harry, I'm sorry for what you have been through and believe me when I say I know how you feel right now." Harry tried to say something, but Arthur didn't let him, knowing he would only hear angry words the boy didn't mean at all. They would have been his reaction to the distress he'd had to face. Arthur knew that and he also knew that Harry would regret saying them later. That's why the king continued before the boy could say anything, "Just listen to me. I know how you feel, because I felt the same when my father decided I was old enough to be sent to my first battle. I had been preparing my whole life to fight and yet I wasn't prepared at all when the time came. I'll never forget the terror I felt then. The screams, the images, the scent of blood. I was only sixteen."

"My point is that I've been through something similarly horrible. I understand how you feel and I can see that you are trying to act as if nothing happened, but the truth is you can't. You will have to face those memories sooner or later, because they won't disappear on their own. They'll keep haunting you until you deal with them. That's why I want you to know that if you need to talk to someone, I'll be here for you. I know it's hard, and the next days will be even harder, but remember that Merlin and I will always help you if you need us."

"And we will do everything to keep you safe." Arthur raised his gaze to meet Merlin's face, now full of concern. The warlock had come back some time ago, but he hadn't wanted to interrupt the king. Harry followed Arthur's gaze and smiled sadly,

"Thank you."

Merlin and Arthur smiled back, but then Merlin's expression changed back into worry. He extended his arm, showing them a paper rectangle, "We got a letter. It's from the Ministry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Harry’s reaction may seem out of character, but I believe he would be more traumatized by what happened than it was described in the book, especially after feeling so safe.
> 
> I don’t try to correct J.K. Rowling, but I think that in the Goblet of Fire Harry doesn’t really have the time to think about himself after the events at the graveyard, feeling guilty about Cedric’s death and being under pressure created by those questioning the authenticity of his story. In my AU Harry was alone and that’s why he doesn’t have anything to distract himself from the fear he feels and here’s the effects.


	14. The Hearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains dialogues from the movie Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.

Dumbledore apparated in the middle of the staircase. He had been given the address of the building in the messily-scribbled letter from Merlin, together with a brief description of the events from the previous night.

It was early morning and he risked a lot by using such magic in public. There was a great possibility of being seen by a Muggle, but from what he had read in the letter the matter was urgent and far too serious to travel by any other, slower, means of transport. He'd have used the much safer floo powder, but both of his two attempts to do so had failed. Merlin and Arthur probably didn't have a fireplace in their flat.

He looked around and, thankfully, he saw nobody. He noted to himself that the number on the door before him was greater than Arthur and Merlin's and he quickly walked down the stairs. After two floors he finally reached his destination.

Dumbledore knocked twice and entered after receiving a 'Come in!', muffled by the door, but still loud enough for him to hear. He followed the voice down the corridor and walked into what seemed to be a living room.

Arthur was sitting on a sofa, leaning forward, his head supported by his arms, fingers tangled in his hair. He had dark circles under his eyes and a worried frown was marking his face. His entire pose was screaming 'defeat'.

Harry was next to the king on the sofa. Unlike the blond he was sitting still, his face emotionless, his body tense. He was staring blankly at the wall before him.

Merlin, leaning back against the wall opposite the sofa, was the only one who reacted to Dumbledore's entrance. He raised his gaze, previously glued to the patterned carpet covering the wooden floor, and sent the headmaster a weak smile, "We thought you'd come by the floo net." He made a gesture in the direction of the fireplace, the existence of which Dumbledore had doubted just minutes earlier.

"I tried. It seems that your fireplace isn't connected to the net."

Merlin frowned, "Sorry, I had forgotten about that."

The headmaster nodded once and waited to hear the news he had rushed all the way here for. Merlin sighed and dropped his gaze again. "I assume you read the letter I sent you."

"That's why I'm here."

"Then you know that we failed and Voldemort is back." Harry shuddered at these words, finally showing some emotion. Arthur just squeezed his fingers tighter on his golden hair, as if to prevent the words from reaching his ears.

Dumbledore returned his gaze to Merlin and answered, knowing that he wasn't expected to, but deciding to do so nonetheless, "Yes. Will you tell me something more about what happened?"

"I shall. But read this first." The warlock passed him a letter. It held the signature of the Ministry of Magic and was addressed to Harry. Dumbledore opened it with a feeling of dread creeping up his spine and read the contents.

 

 

> _Dear Mr Potter!_
> 
> _The Ministry of Magic has received a notification that at 8:43 yesterday (14_ _th_ _August) evening you performed an Expeliarmus Charm in an area populated by Muggles, which is a clear violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._
> 
> _Moreover, you are facing allegations of attempted violation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Your hearing has been scheduled for 25_ _th_ _August, 2:30 o'clock._
> 
> _Hoping you are well,_
> 
> _The Commander-in-Chief of the Improper Use of Magic Office,_
> 
> _Mafalda Hopkirk_
> 
>  

*********

 

The walk from the weird magical lift to the courtroom was only a few yards, but for Arthur it felt like miles. He wasn't even a witness; he had come with Harry, Merlin and Dumbledore only for the moral support, but he experienced the same emotions as he had entering the battlefield. It was the same icy calmness and emptiness that didn't compare to anything else he ever felt. His steps were even, his movements fluent. He knew that his face bore a serious, but calm expression.

It was the complete opposite of what he had felt when they received the letter from the Ministry. They managed to fight off the weight of the knowledge of Voldemort's return, but the letter took them by surprise. It was the final blow for both Harry and him. He had stopped fighting against the hopelessness and let it take control over him. He only managed to pull himself together after the headmaster's arrival.

He still felt his cheeks colour red with shame and guilt when he thought of that moment. He was an adult; he should have supported Harry, instead he had let misery reduce him into the image of utter despair. He should have been stronger than that, like Merlin. The warlock remained calm through the whole situation and it added to Arthur's shame.

They were at the entrance of the room when Arthur noticed that Harry's knees were trembling. Merlin and Dumbledore remained stoic. Harry looked at his watch. "Quarter past two."

Dumbledore nodded. "We can't go inside until they announce that your hearing is starting. We have to wait."

And wait they did.

 

*********

 

The gavel fell on the wooden surface, knocking three times. The room fell quiet.

"Disciplinary hearing of the 25th August into offenses committed by Harry James Potter, resident at Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Interrogator: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic. Witness for the defense: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions produce an Expeliarmus Charm in an area populated by Muggles. Do you deny producing said Expeliarmus Charm?" Fudge raised his gaze from the documents of Harry's case, eyeing the boy coldly.

Harry stilled on his seat in the very center of the room, watched closely by every one of the dozens of the members of the Ministry. He gulped, "No, but…"

The Minister didn't give him the chance to finish. "And you were aware that you were forbidden to use magic outside school while under the age of 17?"

Harry saw another opening to explain what happened. The matter was grave and the Ministry had to learn of the awaiting danger. "Yes, I was, but…"

The flash of triumph in Fudge's eyes told Harry that the Minister didn't need or want to hear more. Harry was again interrupted. "Witches and wizards of the Wizengamot…"

He couldn't allow this to happen, he couldn't! He couldn't be expelled; he couldn't let Voldemort roam free. "I was only doing it because of the Deatheaters!" That one simple word stilled the entire room. Dumbledore, standing at his side, shifted.

Cornelius was the first to shake off the shock. "Deatheaters? In Little Whinging?" He smiled knowingly, "That's quite clever. There were no security cameras in the area, were they, boy? Highly convenient."

Anger boiled in the pit of Harry's stomach. This ignorant man was endangering them all! All he had to do was to listen to them, but he refused to do even that much. "I'm not lying. There were two of them, if I hadn't…!"

"Enough." Fudge's voice was cold again. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would be a very well-rehearsed story, but since you can produce no witnesses of the event…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly. "Pardon me, Minister, but as it happens, we can. I call the witness Merlin Emrys!"

A hushed whisper traveled through the audience as Merlin in his normal, adult form entered the room. From the slot of the door Harry could see Arthur's worried frown, before the door closed again leaving the king on the other side. Harry was confused; why would Merlin use his real name and out himself like that? Dumbledore's face was clear, showing no emotion. _He knew_ , Harry thought, _they had planned it all along and they didn't tell me._

Merlin took his seat. Fudge put his glasses back on his nose, covering his surprise. "So, Merlin Emrys, correct? Rather unusual name, isn't it? Your mother had big expectations of you, I assume?" he chortled with insincere laugher.

Merlin's face hardened. "I believe my mother has nothing to do with the case, Minister."

Cornelius' smile fell. "Well then, tell us what you know about it."

 

*********

 

Fudge's face was red with anger. "That's insane!" he screamed through the voices of the indignant clerks.

"I am telling you nothing but the truth. I am Merlin of Camelot and I saw with my own eyes that Voldemort was reborn."

"The evidence that the Dark Lord has returned is incontrovertible." Dumbledore added, booming through the room.

"He is not back. Your witness is insane!"

"I'll show you my magic then, the old magic. Will that be enough proof?" Merlin's voice cut sharply through the hum, silencing them.

"Don't be silly, boy, that kind of magic was lost centuries ago, even our best witches and wizards can't use a single spell!" Cornelius snarled.

Merlin just smirked as an answer and raised his hands to show that he didn't have a wand. He chanted, " _Ic I sele unc_ _ádumbian min_ _dierneu fram min hatigendum._ _ *****_ " His eyes flashed gold. The room stayed quiet for a short while and then voices erupted from every corner.

Fudge silenced them with his gavel, before asking with an icy voice, "What is this spell? What have you done?"

"I assured myself no traitor in this room will be able to tell Voldemort what happened here." Merlin grinned widely, and it was this smile that scared the Minister the most. After what he saw, heard and felt, and _oh_ , this man's magic was powerful beyond belief, he had no doubts that it was the Merlin who stood before him. He didn't really have a choice, did he?

"Those in favor of conviction? Those in favor of clearing the accused of all charges? Harry James Potter, you are cleared of all charges."

The gavel hit the wood for the last time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Roughly translated "I bound you to keep my secret from my enemies."


	15. Warplanes

Merlin threw his body onto the sofa gracelessly and groaned quietly with his face buried in the soft pillows, "God, that was intense. I'm exhausted."

Arthur just raised his eyebrow at the sight from where he was propping the wall by the door of the living room. "Oh, are you now? From what? Talking? Don't be ridiculous. If that were true, you would be long dead as you seem to never shut up, _Mer_ lin." He stretched the warlock's name in the familiar, teasing manner he often used.

Merlin sent the king the best deadly glare he could manage when still sprawled on his belly. "Well, that or it might well be the part when I argued with the half of the bloody Ministry of Magic, you prat," he shot back, but without any actual venom in his voice, only tiredness.

Arthur's expression changed at his words, losing all of its previous smugness and playfulness.

"Yes... yes, you did. And you were great," the king smiled lightly, almost as if he had been daydreaming. It was just a small bend of the corners of his lips. His eyes lost their usual sharpness and softened with an unmistakable affection. It was a very rare display of feelings and Merlin tried to engrave the expression into his memory. He wanted this moment to last forever and he could feel his magic dancing under his skin, eager to obey this wish and slow time down until it became nothing. It would be perfect. No more burdens, no more troubles, no more destiny, just Arthur and his soft, proud gaze directed at Merlin.

The moment was abruptly broken by Dumbledore, who entered the room. "I talked to Harry and explained to him all of our plans, just as you wished. He was quite agitated by the news, but I managed to convince him to try taking a nap."

Arthur nodded with understanding, shifting his gaze to the headmaster. "That's good. I can't imagine him getting much sleep tonight. Not with all this stress he was under for the last couple of days."

"That was what I thought as well." After a pause he added, "I wanted to thank you for helping him during the hearing."

Merlin, who had jumped to sit up when the professor appeared in the doorway, blushed slightly, "It was nothing."

"I don't believe it was nothing. From my experience I know that standing before those people and arguing with them requires a great courage. And I'm very grateful for what you did." The colour on Merlin's cheeks deepened and he murmured thanks under his breath.

After a moment of stretched silence Dumbledore shifted and sighed. "As much as I'd want to stay, I'm afraid there are urgent matters I need to attend to. I bid you good evening, gentlemen." And he disappeared with a _pop_ of the air.

Arthur straightened himself before stepping forward and starting to walk towards Merlin. "Well, that was awkward. At least he wasn't patronising this time. Last time he made me feel like a bloody kid." Merlin sagged into the sofa once again, answering Arthur with a huff of agreement.

The king stopped by the furniture and poked at the warlock's legs, "Move, I want to sit here." Merlin gave out a whining noise and stayed put with his lean limbs spread out everywhere. Arthur didn't even know how someone so slender could take so much space for himself, and how on earth did his arms bend at _this_ angle?

Arthur decided it was time to use greater measures and he jabbed Merlin just under his ribs, exactly where he knew the warlock was ticklish. Air left Merlin's lungs with a surprised huff as he shrunk himself quickly into a fetal position, protecting his belly from any further attacks.

Arthur grinned evilly as he sank onto the sofa next to Merlin, feeling the heat of the warlock's vicious glare on his face even without so much as peeping at him. Merlin gave up after a moment and just sighed, "You could have warned me before you did something like that, you know?"

"I told you to move." Arthur's grin grew even wider.

"Clotpole," Merlin muttered under his breath, but the king heard him anyway and answered in turn,

"Idiot."

A comfortable silence fell in the room and for a few minutes they were both content by just sitting next to each other and taking comfort by the other's presence. However, the silence soon started to grow heavy with worries and insecurities. The future was uncertain and the plan they had made together with Dumbledore was very fragile. So many things could go wrong...

"Arthur, stop. I can literally hear you thinking."He turned his head to find Merlin's eyes slowly studying his scowl.

The king smiled weakly, "I'm just worried. Are you really going to go to the Ministry again tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to meeting the Minister again, but we can't just sit and wait for Voldemort to come and kill us. We need to act first, you know that."

"I do, but why do we have to do it together with the Ministry?" Arthur whined. The main idea of their plan was to persuade Cornelius Fudge and those under him to let Aurors fight against the Death Eaters alongside Merlin and the members of Dumbledore's group of trusted wizards called the Order of Phoenix. They predicted that Voldemort would want to act quietly behind the scenes, so their best option was to involve the Death Eaters in regular battles with highly-trained wizards.

Merlin sighed again, "We've already talked about that, Arthur. We need allies in this war."

"Cornelius Fudge is just an egoistic and prejudiced idiot who would deny the existence of the Dark Lord even if he stood before him," Arthur snarled and pinched his nose with annoyance and frustration.

"I dislike it as much as you do, but we don't have a choice. We need the Aurors' help."

"I realize that. Don't talk as if you don't understand why I don't like this plan, Merlin. I want the Ministry to do something about Voldemort before it's too late just as much as you do, and I am perfectly aware that we need help, but you can't just expect me to step back and-"

Merlin interrupted him, "Why can't you understand? I don't want you to stay in Hogwarts because I want you to hide. I want you to look after the students." Arthur tried to say something, but Merlin didn't let him. "I'm not trying to protect you from the danger; I know you can take care of yourself. But we need you in the school more. Someone needs to keep an eye on Harry and the others. Someone needs to protect Hogwarts in case they are attacked."

"The school isn't strategically desirable and you know that. Its protections are too good and the losses would be much higher than the gains. Hell, even the Ministry is easier to conquer."

Merlin frowned, "You may be right, but have you even thought about the kids? Arthur, they are only fifteen years old; we can't leave them alone."

"We wouldn't, Dumbledore-" But Merlin cut in again.

"Dumbledore can't always be with them." Merlin's face softened a little. "They need someone to be there for them, Arthur."

After a pause, Arthur huffed with defeat, "Fine, I get your point. I still don't like it, but I will do this." Merlin smiled with relief and gratitude.

"Merlin, if anything goes wrong..."

"I'll let you know instantly."

Arthur nodded and stood up. "I'm going to bed. You should too. It's been a long day and tomorrow won't be much better."

"Thank you."

Arthur nodded again and walked out of the room.

 

*********

 

Merlin really wished he had taken Arthur with him. He would never admit it to the prat, but he would have felt much better with him by his side. He was dizzy with agitation and his throat was closed-off to the point that he doubted he would be able to breath, let alone say anything. The nerves were literally killing him.

He had used the Floo Network to travel to the Ministry. He remembered to turn at the end of the crowded corridor and enter the elevator. However, he did not remember where the Minister's office was. He had to interrupt a witch standing next to him and reading some probably very important papers, and ask her for the directions. He was met by a stunned look on her face first. Then she eyed him up and down and a mean, mocking smile curved her lips. Merlin raised his eyebrow at her in a way Gaius had always used on him centuries ago. Merlin's version of the Eyebrow might not look halfway as intimidating as the Court Physician's, but the witch seemed to finally catch herself on staring. She blushed and told him where to go. He thanked her and pressed the right button on the panel of the elevator. Soon he was on the right floor just in front of the Minister's office.

Merlin shifted uncomfortably, unsure if he could just enter the room.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" Merlin turned to find a petite middle-aged brunette looking at him expectantly.

Merlin sent her a bright smile. Finally someone to rescue him from this ordeal. "Yes, I'd like to meet with the Minister. Do you know if he is in?"

The woman looked unconvinced. Merlin supposed he could have dressed better than a tee and a pair of loose trousers. "Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"No, but I'm sure the Minister will see me. If he isn't here, I can wait." The brunette frowned slightly, unsure what to do, but after a moment she nodded.

"The Minister is in his office. I'll ask if he has a minute, Mr...?

"Emrys." She nodded again and entered the office with a knock. She sent him a last dubious glance and closed the door behind herself.

She walked out half a minute later with a stunned expression. "The Minister will see you now, Mr Emrys. Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?"

"No, thank you." Merlin walked past her and with a deep breath he entered the dragon's den. Though Merlin thought meeting a real dragon would be much nicer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading (or at least I hope that someone reads it)!  
> Any thoughts about the chapter or the work in general? Like it? Hate it? Please, share with me. I have barely a few comments and I don't know what you think.


	16. Changes

Merlin sighed, tired and wanting nothing more than to get out of this room, away from this man. Already on the verge of snapping and trying to calm himself before he did something that would bury all hope of getting any help from the Aurors, the warlock muttered under his breath, "Why were you chosen to be Minister of Magic again?"

The sharp inhale and exclaimed "Excuse me!" from the other side of the desk told him that he wasn't as quiet as he had intended. Merlin didn't really care at this point of the conversation though. Not many people had the talent of bringing him to the edge, but Cornelius Fudge was a bloody infuriating coward, exactly the sort of person that Merlin hated with a true passion.

Merlin pinched his nose, a gesture he had picked up recently from Arthur, and raised his gaze to meet the Minister's gray eyes. The wrinkles and crow's feet he saw there seemed deeper than before, but it was anger, fear and denial marking Fudge's face, without even a fraction of the worry that had blossomed in Merlin's belly the moment he faced a reborn Voldemort. Just the mere thought of that night made the warlock feel a hundred years older.

Seeing Cornelius' doubtful frown, Merlin barely resisted the urge to throw another sharp-witted comment that wanted to tear away from his mouth. He took a deep breath and, when he was sure he would be able to act civil, he said instead,

"Listen, I don't want you to make an unbreakable vow to me. All that I want is a promise that you will allow the Head Auror to send his people to fight against Voldemort when the time comes."

Cornelius cringed visibly at the blatantly normal manner with which Merlin said the Dark Lord's name. His white eyebrows furrowed even more, almost joining in the middle. But Merlin knew that the Minister couldn't refuse his request. He couldn't even claim that the warlock was making Voldemort's return up, not after he had seen Merlin's memories of the night of the 14th August in the Ministry's Pensieve.

After all, they had already had the fierce argument about whether the memories were unchanged and not manipulated by anyone.

The Minister sagged visibly in his seat with a defeated expression and Merlin knew that the tiresome game they had played for the last two hours was finally won. "You have my word."

Merlin struggled not to smile victoriously. He let his body relax now that the fight was over, and felt his muscles tingle after staying too long in one position. He ran his hand through his black hair and moved to another topic.

"Minister, I have one more issue to discuss. What is your opinion on dragons?" The smile crept on his face unwittingly, despite his greatest efforts.

The caught-off-guard expression that appeared on Cornelius Fudge's face was truly priceless.

 

*********

 

Harry was sitting on a bed in Merlin and Arthur's guestroom. He was trying to read one of the books Merlin had given him a few days after Vol-... after Harry spent his first night in the flat. The book, a fantasy one (Merlin seemed to be a fan of the genre), was good, brilliant even, but Harry couldn't make himself focus on it. Words were blurring before his eyes; sentences were slurred; the punctuation had stopped mattering a long time ago. Harry had been reading the first few lines of page 53 in a vain attempt to understand their meaning for the past half an hour. His mind was elsewhere; his thoughts were wandering, both into the past and the future, trying to discover what he should have done and figure out what he was going to do.

He could hear Arthur and Merlin, who had returned from his visit at the Ministry an hour ago, talking animatedly in the living room, but he really didn't feel like joining them.

Harry was really grateful that they had invited him over to stay in their flat after Merlin rescued him _that night_. He had no desire to return to the Dursleys' and was more than glad that he was looked after by his friends, though sometimes it was too much for him. He wasn't used to having someone other than Hermione and Ron pay attention to his well-being. Of course, there were Dumbledore and Mrs Weasley, the latter of whom was always ready to fuss over him, but their attention was divided between many people. Here he was the only one and he knew that Arthur and Merlin were both fully focused on him and him alone. He could sometimes see Arthur frowning with worry or exchanging looks with Merlin, and Harry knew that it was about him. It was a really strange feeling, knowing that there was someone there for him, ready to listen or talk to him all the time. It lit a delightful warmth in his belly, but it was also unknown, overwhelming and scary.

There was another reason why he wanted to stay in the guestroom. Both of them had started to treat him like a younger brother somewhere along the road; with understanding, but also with patronization. He knew they had the best of intentions, but it was painfully obvious that they had never had a close relationship with someone so much younger before. They never told him everything, often leaving out most of their plans. They never spoke of their own worries and fears, no doubt not to frighten him. He'd much prefer to have a view of the entire situation, but Merlin and Arthur kept their cards close to their chests. Harry knew they were used to having secrets, but it didn't stop him from getting angry at them. He was fifteen, not five! He could handle harsh truths.

Harry knew that he sounded childish, that he was whining _exactly_ like a five year old would, but that was the way he felt and he could do nothing about it. He never told Merlin or Arthur anything though, ashamed and embarrassed of those low emotions burning bright in his chest.

That's why Harry often chose to stay in the guestroom alone rather than joining the two of them in the living room.

_In two weeks you'll be in Hogwarts_ , he thought, _and everything will be back to normal._ Hogwarts was always his asylum, a place he could call home. This flat, however cosy and hospitable it was, was still something completely alien to him.

There was a knock at the door of the guestroom. Startled, Harry's head snapped up from the book as he looked up, bewildered, but then he scolded himself in his mind for his idiotic reaction. There was no reason to be scared. No danger could reach him here; he knew that with certainty. Not in Merlin's flat, fortified like a stronghold and protected by numerous shields, and especially not with Merlin himself just in another room.

The knock repeated, tearing Harry away from his thoughts. This time he answered, "Come in."

The door opened and Harry's eyes widened comically when, instead of a golden fringe of Arthur or Merlin's mop of unruly black hair, he saw a redhead and freckles.

Oblivious to his astonishment, Ron took in the guestroom. "Blimey! This whole place looks so _muggle._ You'd think that Merlin would have the most awesome wizard flat in London." He had an expression as if someone just told him Santa Clause didn't exist.

There was a hem, coming from behind him. "Thanks, Ronald, for sharing your brilliant observations with us, but could you perhaps move?" Scolded, Ron fully entered the room, allowing Hermione to follow. She instantly threw herself forward and hugged Harry in a death grip, "Harry! We were so worried about you. Are you alright?"

Harry struggled for breath until Hermione noticed and released him. Then he smiled brightly, his previous worries forgotten at least for the moment, "Yeah, 'm fine. But why are you here?"

"I got here as soon as I could, Harry, but it takes an owl almost a week to reach Australia, and my parents wouldn't let me travel alone, even by the Floo network. We had to rearrange our flight. Sorry I wasn't here for the hearing," Hermione said in one breath. She gave him an earnest look, but then she shot Ron a glare. The redhead's cheeks reddened under her heavy, accusing expression.

"Sorry, Harry, but you know how I am." Ron shied away from Harry's gaze. "I would have probably only made it worse for you with my big mouth and no 'Mione to stop me. I would have said something totally inappropriate and hurt your feelings. And you were here, in a safe place, so... Sorry, mate."

"It's ok, Ron. I know you wanted the best for me." Ron looked at him with utter surprise. It was very likely that he had expected Harry to sulk about his absence, but Harry was too happy to see them to care.

Hermione sent Ron one last angry glare, and smiled again at Harry. "I'm staying at the Weasleys' for the rest of the summer and Mrs Weasley said you were invited to join us if you wanted to. She has already sent Merlin a letter, so they know everything."

Her smile wavered when she saw Harry's face losing most of its previous happy glow. This last remark made Harry's frustration overflow and he burst out, "So they were hiding this too, along with everything else..."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, stopping the oncoming rant, "Don't be so harsh on them! Mrs Weasley asked them not to tell you, because we wanted it to be a surprise."

Harry realized that he was once again caught on misjudging Merlin and Arthur. "Oh." His mouth formed a perfect "o", embarrassment colouring his cheeks. This seeming to be her aim, Hermione's expression turned a bit smug at the sight and she let it slide without further comment.

"Also, we are going to attend a meeting of the Order of Phoenix just before term starts. Dumbledore said it was high time we learned more about the situation, just in case. He thinks you might be in serious danger, Harry. You-Know-Who hates you and is determined to kill you."

"I know. That's why we should be ready." Hermione and Ron nodded. Ron opened his mouth to say something more, but a knock at the door interrupted him. After a called out "Come in!" the doors opened, revealing Merlin standing there awkwardly .

"Guys, we are about to order takeout for dinner. Is pizza ok?" Merlin smiled widely at them for no reason, somehow lifting the previously heavy mood instantly as if with the use of magic.

Harry saw the exact moment when Ron's face lighted with curiosity. Just from this look Potter was sure his best friend didn't have a clue what Merlin was talking about. How Ron could not know what pizza was, Harry had no idea, but this problem demanded to be solved immediately, he decided.

His worries had to wait, because right now Ron needed some serious education in muggle cuisine.


	17. The Order of the Phoenix

The flat had been quiet since the teens' departure almost two weeks ago.

Merlin and Arthur killed the time by slouching around like a pair of ghosts. Neither of them acknowledged it aloud, but they missed having other people around. The teens had been helping a lot in taking their thoughts off their worries. Without that stimulation, both of them sank back into predictions of the uncertain future. The atmosphere between them was stretched and full of the awaiting danger, similar to the one of a starting war.

Arthur knew he was hard to deal with in that time. He could be silent for hours, standing or sitting by a window. He didn't eat much, sick with nerves. He knew that his face was now permanently marked by a scowl; seeing it each time he looked in a mirror. It only worsened his mood, and he desperately needed to find a release for his tension. With no one else to vent his frustration on, he often snapped at Merlin for almost no reason and started fights over any tiny fault he could find in the warlock.

Merlin bore the stress better than him. The sorcerer was just quieter than normal, more thoughtful. He sometimes looked at Arthur sadly, which often lead to a sharp and cruel comment from the king, but Merlin never said anything back to him.

In the rare moments of clear mind, Arthur felt extremely guilty for his behavior, but he was also unbelievably glad to notice that Merlin had stopped faking cheerfulness to cover his unease and fear. Finally, after so many years, he could see the other side of his best friend and not the mask he had always covered his worries with.

When they could no longer bear the tension, they trained. It was Arthur's only way to find relief. When he exercised, his mind was empty and content. His body knew exactly what it had to do and responded to any of his desires flawlessly, knowing instinctively how to swing the sword at the right angle or with proper force.

Soon he and Merlin were almost perfectly tuned to each other. They forged this bond through the years they had spent together, learning so much about each other that they could guess what the other was thinking by looking at him, and hours of training to their very limits, but Arthur knew it was worth it. That knowledge of one another would stay with them no matter what circumstances they might find themselves in. They always knew what the other was going to do and because of that they were able to work together like clockwork. Sword and magic – together they were unstoppable.

It was much harder when Merlin decided that Arthur needed to learn new spells, more advanced than the harmless ones he had been taught during his first year. Arthur had almost no experience in this field and his lack of understanding of the ways magic worked showed constantly when he tried out the new enchantments and curses, slowing him down on every step. It was only thanks to Merlin's determination that he learned the few spells the warlock managed to drum into his head.

For Arthur, it felt like his first small victory in a very long time.

 

*********

 

Merlin was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and Arthur really thought the warlock should stop mimicking Gaius, because even Gwen could have done that expression better.

At the thought of his late wife, he felt a sting of pain in his chest, but he chose to ignore it. However harsh it sounded, he didn't want to destroy the pleasant mood between him and Merlin by reminding him of the loved ones they'd lost. Lately, such a good-humored atmosphere was rare.

Merlin managed to hold back his smile, but Arthur saw the corners of his lips twitch. The warlock, to be honest, looked more like a playful puppy than the stern adult he was trying to be.

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked, his voice flat, though his eyes sparked with amusement. "Do you really want to do this now? Tomorrow's the meeting with the Order of Phoenix," he reminded the king.

Arthur bit back a sigh of frustration, because he had remembered about the meeting. With that in mind, he had gone through the pros and cons of deciding to have Merlin de-age him a couple of times already, the idea circling in his head for a while now.

He decided that the humiliation awaiting him and being treated like a child was necessary. He needed a few days to get used to the de-aged body again and he had a bad feeling that he would need to be in the best form he could manage very soon after the meeting. He was sure that if the Aurors made any move, Voldemort was going to strike.

Besides, the Order deserved to know about this aspect of their plans, just to be sure they would be able to find him in case of an emergency. He gritted his teeth and spat out, "Just do it. And transfigure me some decent clothes. I can't go there looking like a peasant."

Merlin snorted to show his annoyance, because he was the one who had bought Arthur his clothes and he knew that they were much more than decent. Every single piece of clothing had cost him a small fortune. But then the warlock realized how serious Arthur's decision was and he looked into his eyes, his gaze reading the king's expression thoroughly. What he had seen must have satisfied him, because he stepped forward and took Arthur's wrist in his hands.

Arthur closed his eyes and waited for the muttered spell and the now-familiar tug in his stomach.

 

*********

 

"Say a word, Merlin," Arthur hissed, struggling to climb up the stairs leading to 12 Grimmauld Place. He felt the smirk on Merlin's lips even behind his back.

"I just wanted to ask if you aren't too hot in that coat." Having turned back for a second, Arthur decided he wasn't buying the warlock's innocent expression. Not at all. He sighed tiredly,

"At least let me maintain the remains of my dignity." It was really hard to look intimidating in the short and weak body of a twelve year old. And it really _was_ hot. Arthur was boiling in the thin dark blue coat he had made Merlin transfigure for him, but he refused to take it off. It was the closest he managed to get to his kingly look and he had no intentions of letting it go.

Too bad capes weren't fashionable in this century.

Arthur resisted the urge to pinch his nose or massage his temples, feeling the oncoming headache, and used the door knocker, creating three echoing _booms_.

After a moment there was a shuffle on the other side and the lock screeched under the pressure of the turning key. The door opened, revealing a tall man in his mid-thirties standing in the doorframe. He had long, but somewhat unruly dark hair reaching his shoulders in waves. His skin had an ashen and unhealthy glow, as if he rarely left the building. The trimmed beard gave him a slightly wild look. Despite those unwelcoming features, the man was rather handsome. His lips were stretched in a pleasant smile, but it disappeared as soon as he saw them.

"Excuse me, Sir, but have you got the wrong door?" he asked politely. He directed the question to Merlin, even though the warlock was standing a step behind Arthur, like a proper servant should. Arthur felt compelled to correct the man's mistake and let him know who exactly was in charge.

"Not at all," he answered with all the self-confidence he could muster, putting on the mask of an arrogant prince to cover his embarrassment and already hurt pride. "Isn't this 12 Grimmauld Place, where the Order of Phoenix is gathering tonight?"

The man gaped and his dark-blue eyes widened comically. The expression lasted for only a second though. The man quickly found his wits back and his face turned into a blank page. "Who are you?" he growled in a low voice.

"I was sure Dumbledore informed you about our arrival beforehand. I'm Arthur Pendragon, nice to meet you," he replied smugly and extended his hand. He heard a mumbled "Behaving like a prat again…" from Merlin behind him, but he ignored the comment.

The man shook his hand and his eyes brightened in understanding. He looked Arthur up and down and smirked, "Sirius Black. I'm sorry; Dumbledore did tell me about you, but I just expected someone, err taller."

Arthur felt his cheeks heat and he hoped it wasn't visible in the dim light of the late afternoon. He didn't reply, and let himself be led by Sirius through a dark corridor to a rather large room. An enormous table took over half of its space.

Most of the chairs were already taken. To his surprise, Arthur recognized over half of the present members of the Order. His eyes instantly caught sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione smiling shyly at him and Merlin, who stopped a step behind him. Next to them were Mrs. and Mr. Weasley and two identical redhead twins, probably Ron's siblings. On the other side Arthur saw Minerva McGonagall, a brown-haired amiable looking man, a woman with purple locks, a dark-skinned man, and Severus Snape. At the head of the table stood Dumbledore.

When they entered the room, all the heads snapped in their direction. Arthur couldn't remember when he last felt that uncomfortable, but he didn't let his expression falter. He raised his chin slightly and stepped forward gracefully to take the vacant place next to Harry. In the corner of his eyes he could see that Merlin followed him to the table and was now hesitating over whether he should remain standing, keeping up the act of a servant, or sit down next to the king. Arthur nodded almost invisibly and Merlin sagged onto the seat with a quiet sigh of relief.

The king looked around the table and noticed that Sirius had sat next to the man with brown hair. He also caught a few questioning, annoyed or amused pairs of eyes. The moment stretched almost painfully.

 _Well, isn't this lovely_ , Arthur whined in his mind. _Can someone start the meeting now, please? Or are we just going to sit here in silence? Are we waiting for someone else or something?_ It was a possibility, but Arthur had made sure they were late, intending to avoid a situation like that.

Dumbledore hemmed meaningfully, capturing everyone's attention and releasing Arthur from the judging gazes. _Finally._ Arthur let his tense shoulders relax a bit.

"As we all know, we are here to talk about-" he started, but Snape cut in rudely.

"Professor, I wasn't aware we ran a nursery," he said coldly, throwing Arthur a disdainful glance. "I understand the presence of Mr. Potter and his… friends as they are not only personally involved in the case, but also in great danger, and I see that Mr. Ambrose has almost finished his magical education," he continued, using Merlin's fake surname, "But if I remember correctly, Mr. Penn has attended Hogwarts for little more than half a term. Therefore, I feel compelled to ask. What is the purpose of bringing him here, Professor?"

Though Arthur had tried to prepare himself for such a greeting, it didn't sting any less. He pinned the Master of Potions under his glare, filling it with hot anger.

Dumbledore smiled lightly, "Severus, have you ever heard the saying that looks can be deceiving?"

Snape frowned, "Of course, but I do not see what it has to do with the question. You have assured us that we will be joined today by powerful allies, but all I see is a child and a teenager."

"And Voldemort will see exactly the same. Would you rather we had no disguises?" From a sudden and angry pulse of magic coming from his side Arthur guessed that Merlin must have weakened the shields covering his true powers. He had forgotten that the warlock didn't take insults well. He felt his own lips bend in a smirk.

He glanced to his left and saw that most of the members were looking at the scene with confusion. Ron was gaping at them with awe. Harry was only just refraining from laughing – the corners of his lips twitched and his green eyes sparkled with mirth. Arthur remembered that both teens really hated the Potions teacher. Sirius was trying to catch Harry's attention, throwing him knowing and amused looks. Dumbledore still wore a small smile.

Snape raised his brow. "Disguises? And what might they be? Polyjuice Potion, like Crouch Jr.?"

"We both know Polyjuice is just a temporary solution. Besides, we don't need elixirs to change our appearance," Merlin answered calmly.

"So you want me to assume that you have been disguising yourself as a student for a year?" Snape's tone was soaked with patronizing yet cold disbelief. "I was your teacher and let me assure you - I would have noticed."

Dumbledore decided it was time to interfere before the exchange became too heated. "Actually, Severus, they are right." The teacher sent him a doubtful look, but said nothing more, pressing his lips in a tight line.

Dumbledore seemed to be satisfied with this reaction, because he continued on, "Please, let me introduce you – Arthur Pendragon and Merlin."

Merlin, whose anger had disappeared (Arthur swore that he was a bipolar, because no normal person's feelings could change as soon as his, seriously), smiled sheepishly and waved his hand.

"Hullo…"

He was met with a bunch of surprised stares.

Arthur laughed soundlessly. Maybe the meeting wouldn't be as boring as he had previously assumed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks for the kudos and comments! They really encourage me to keep going :)


	18. War Council

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish the chapter sooner than expected. I hope you'll enjoy :)

" _Please, let me introduce you – Arthur Pendragon and Merlin."_

_Merlin, whose anger had disappeared (Arthur swore that he was a bipolar, because no normal person's feelings could change as soon as his, seriously), smiled sheepishly and waved his hand._

" _Hullo…"_

_He was met with a bunch of surprised stares._

_Arthur laughed soundlessly. Maybe the meeting wouldn't be as boring as he had previously assumed._

 

*********

 

"If we have that fact established, can you stop with the staring now? It's quite unnerving," the blond asked in an annoyed tone, though the Order members' astonished and doubtful expressions were undeniably an amusing sight. To be honest, the faces they made were hilarious, but Arthur didn't think the wizards would appreciate him laughing at them at the moment. Suppressing an urge to smirk, he made a sour face and turned to the warlock. "And you. Stop grinning like a fool. You embarrass me."

"Don't be a prat. I know you secretly love it," Merlin answered playfully in a stage whisper, still smiling. It shouldn't be a surprise that the warlock could easily see through the frown Arthur fought to maintain. Really, he could read the king too well for his own good. Arthur just shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips against his will.

Their antics gave enough time for the occupants of the table to take in the news while Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged pleased looks as if to pat themselves on the back with pride that they had known something before the others. Dumbledore watched everyone's reaction, smiling mischievously.

Arthur noticed that no one questioned the headmaster. So it was not only all of his students in Hogwarts but the Order as well to whom the old wizard seemed to be someone who was never mistaken or wrong. They looked up at him and believed in his every word. To Arthur, still somewhat medieval in his mind, that dynamic was clear and comparable to that of a council. Dumbledore would hear everyone out and learn their thoughts about the issue, but he would have the last word. Arthur knew well that the headmaster was the one he needed to convince of the tactics he had mapped out, and the others, like good subordinates, would follow his lead.

The two identical redheads were the first ones to shake off of the shock caused by the big reveal. They beamed at the warlock, leaning over the table to look at him and pinning him with curious gazes. When the movement caught Merlin's attention, the closer twin winked at him. "So you are Merlin?"

The other one picked up immediately after the first so quickly it would have sounded like one person speaking, had their voices been as similar as their looks. "The greatest wizard ever?"

Merlin flushed slightly, embarrassed and flustered because of the title he hated with a passion. Arthur sighed, colouring his voice with unmasked sarcasm, "The one and only."

Merlin reddened even more, but the twins paid no heed to the bright colour of his cheeks. They glanced at each other for no more than a second, but to Arthur it seemed that they had exchanged a thousand words. Then they turned back to Merlin, grinning brightly. "The greatest wizard ever surely knows some amazing tricks."

"And pranks. You should show us some," the other one added. "By the way, I'm George and this is-"

"Freddie. Nice to meet you!" There was something disturbing about the twins, Arthur mused. Finishing each other's sentences was weird, but certainly not the weirdest thing Arthur had seen. No, what unsettled him mostly was what would have happened if they sided with Merlin in a prank war _. Oh God_ , what if they worked together against _him_? Even he, an unfamiliar-with-the-school first year, had heard about the famous duo of tricksters.

Mrs. Weasley sent the two siblings a death glare. "Behave, the two of you, or you'll be sent upstairs, for Merlin's sake." Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake. "So sorry, dear! I didn't mean to say that!"

Ron, sitting beside his mum, started to laugh until Hermione poked him, hard. "Hey!" he protested, massaging his hurt ribs. He looked at the witch with a wounded expression.

"You did exactly the same, a few times even, so don't you dare laugh now!" she hissed.

Harry, sitting next to the girl, grinned and nodded, "She has a point."

At the other side of the table the brown-haired man was staring into space with a blank expression. Smirking under his nose, Sirius shook the man's shoulder, trying to wake him from his seemingly frozen state.

By the two of them, the woman with purple hair was laughing madly. It surprised Arthur, because the reaction didn't suit her gothic look. He had rather thought she would be static and cold. Now, with a melodic laugh shaking her thin frame, she seemed like a great person, if a bit crazy. Seeing Sirius struggling with the man just inflamed her laughter once again.

"Well, that was unexpected," the man said, finally. Sirius' laugher joined the woman's. "I don't know what is so funny about this, Tonks." When she didn't react in any other way than another outburst, he sighed, "What do I do with you two?" Despite his words, he made a fond face.

Opposite Arthur, Minerva McGonagall was looking at the exchange with a raised eyebrow, though the corners of her lips were twitching as well. The dark-skinned man sitting next to Tonks was leaning forward over the table, propping his face on his arms with a calculating expression.

Severus' cold frown hadn't changed a bit since Dumbledore's announcement. He still sat in the same position, unmoving, just looking around the table coolly from time to time. Arthur thought he noticed some new sparks of curiosity lighting the teacher's eyes, but it could be only his impression.

Looking back to the twins, Arthur caught Mr. Weasley's shocked gaze glued to him. Not knowing, what else he could do to respond, the king smiled warmly and with assurance. _Such a smile doesn't suit a child's face_ , he thought, but didn't let his expression change.

Dumbledore hemmed significantly, gaining everyone's attention almost immediately. "Let's go back to the most important topic, shall we?" He waited a moment to let the amusement fall. The wizards grew serious again under his thorough gaze. "We know that Voldemort is back." None of the present members of the Order flinched at the name, which surprised Arthur. From what he gathered, the Dark Lord awakened very strong emotions among the magic-users.

Dumbledore continued, "But we don't know where he is, how many followers he has and where he is going to strike first."

Arthur could see that Severus had opened his mouth to say something, but the blond couldn't let that chance pass by. He had come to the meeting in order to introduce his tactic and it was a perfect moment to do so.

"Then we have to act before him." The wizards looked at him with interest. "We can't just sit here and wait for him to attack. We need to make him uncertain, to question his plans and his safety. We need to drive him out."

"My plan is risky, but from the information I gathered about Voldemort I think that he is going to start his attacks with terrorizing innocent and defenceless people, and we can't let that happen."

All eyes were glued to him and he could see from their faces that they wanted to prevent the Death Eaters from harming civilians as much as he did. Arthur gulped. He knew his plan wasn't perfect, but it was still the best of what they could do in their situation. Now he needed to convince the others of that.

 

*********

 

By the end of the meeting Arthur learned the names of the Order members he hadn't known – Remus', Kingsley's and Tonks', of course.

Knowing that there were high chances he would work with those people in the future, he tried to learn as much as he could about all of them from their behaviour, words and body language. It wasn't an easy task. He had always found reading people hard, wanting to see only the best in them, but this time he really tried and now, after the meeting, he felt like he had gained some knowledge about each of the wizards.

The Order accepted his proposal of the tactics, though with some major adjustments and changes.

Arthur was glad that they had agreed to his plan, but the meeting reminded him sharply that he wouldn't be there to follow it through. He was to stay in Hogwarts, though he would rather fight with the Aurors and the Order against the Death Eaters instead of being grounded in the school. He had always been a man of action. Just waiting and doing nothing to help while others risked their lives was hard to accept, though he had agreed to that aspect of the plan long ago when he discussed it with Merlin.

The meeting ended after finally reaching a compromise between everyone's opinions. As soon as Dumbledore closed it Severus left the room, claiming that he was going back to Hogwarts by the Floo network. After that there was a moment of silence, but then the wizards stood up as if nothing had happened, and gathered together in little groups to talk.

Merlin looked at Arthur questioningly, but the king was too tired to think about anything other than a hot bath and a late dinner. He would happily stay in other circumstances, but this time he shook his head and gestured to the warlock that they were leaving.

They said goodbye to everyone and turned to leave the house, but they were unexpectedly stopped by McGonagall. Since the beginning of the meeting she hadn't said anything about the true identities of the two, just commented on the plans and suggested changes in the tactics, so the sudden change in the approach surprised them.

"Mr. Penn," she started, looking at the blond over her thin glasses, "Since you are attending Hogwarts this year as well, I should let you know I expect nothing but perfection from such an outstanding personality during my classes," She sent him a tight, but amused smile.

Arthur suppressed a groan and turned to leave the room with what he feared was the expression of a kicked puppy.


	19. Partings&Reunions

A loud whistle hurrying up the last passengers made Arthur jump, tearing him out of his train of thoughts. He hadn't realized it was so late, lulled by the monotonously cheerful blabbing of Henry sitting next to him. The blond looked out of the window of the Hogwarts' Express one last time, taking in Platform 9 ¾, when his eyes were caught by the brightness of Merlin's red t-shirt. The warlock was watching the train from where he stood under one of the pillars, seemingly the only stationary person in the constantly moving crowd of parents.

Merlin, as if feeling the king's gaze on him, raised his eyes to the blond's compartment's window with a silent question, but Arthur just frowned in an answer, saying goodbye to the brunet through his painful expression. Merlin smiled softly in response, faint traces of sadness painted in his eyes, but enough for Arthur to pick up and understand.

Even though they had planned this for weeks, the situation seemed unreal to both of them, but each for a different reason. For Arthur it meant staying behind while others went on a mission and his whole being disagreed with this course of action. He wanted to join the Order and the Aurors, and fight with them, even though he knew he had other duties to attend.

However, for Merlin it was something else entirely. It was the first time they had parted for more than a few hours since Arthur's return. Saying goodbye again must have brought up the memories of the king's last days, Arthur assumed. He knew that Merlin had tried to erase them from his mind, but such strong experiences couldn't just go away. The king regretted that he couldn't do anything to ease the pain and banish that sad look from the warlock's eyes from where he sat in the compartment. He knew that he should have noticed that sadness earlier, but he had been too deep in his pouting to notice. A blade of shame stabbed his guts.

The train whistled again and pulled away sharply, setting off. Arthur glued his eyes to the familiar shape of his friend, but as the train sped up and moved on, Merlin's figure slowly disappeared in the crowd occupying the platform.

Arthur sighed and watched the buildings of London flashing before his eyes with gaining speed. He tried to ease his conscious. He'd never intended to hurt Merlin and there was nothing to feel guilty about. It wasn't his fault; he hadn't done anything wrong – he just did what they had agreed to. If Merlin hadn't been so goddamn stubborn and said something, they might have even talked about it and worked it out. They both knew parting was necessary.

None of those facts lightened the heaviness on his chest.

He watched as the city turned into suburbs and then slowly the terraced houses and small gardens disappeared, defeated by a terrain not entirely tamed by humanity. Soft hills and shallow valleys cut by a road or a village from time to time dominated the landscape.

Arthur didn't know how long he sat there, just staring out of the window. It couldn't have been less than an hour. He finally sighed and turned to Henry, who had turned silent when the train was departing from the station and from then on had said nothing more.

The boy had grown during the holidays by almost an inch, but his shaggy, brown hair was shorter than Arthur had remembered. He must have had a haircut. He was wearing a dark blue wizard robe, simple but finely made. The shortness of the sleeves indicated however that the robe wasn't new.

His skin was slightly tanned, probably because of hours spent outside rather than lying on a beach, which was a rather strange custom now that Arthur thought about it. The darkened skin revealed small freckles on Henry's nose, making him look adorable, more childish. But, underneath the wall of enthusiasm, cheerfulness and the bright toothy smile, there was a new shadow in the brown eyes staring back into his own.

"What's wrong, Henry?" The words cut the silence harshly after such a long time, too sudden and too loud. Henry's eyes widened, as if surprised that Arthur had said anything at all. Then he averted his gaze and gulped. Preparation before a lie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He didn't sound even a bit convincing, probably even to himself because he flinched just after he finished the sentence.

"I can see that there is something off." Henry's gaze returned to stare into the black of Arthur's pupils with wonder that someone cared enough to ask. Arthur took that as a small victory and continued to tread cautiously. "Please, I want to help."

He could practically see Henry closing up again and he cursed himself in his mind. "You can't do anything to help me. It's probably nothing anyway."

But Arthur couldn't just let it go. He knew subconsciously that the case was something serious and he wanted to help. Even if he couldn't do anything for Merlin, he could at least take care of this boy, try to protect his innocence and honesty before the cruelty of the world. "Henry, please. Let me."

There was a moment of silence, so long that Arthur thought Henry wasn't going to say anything.

"It's my parents." The words weren't more than a small whisper. "For the last month they have been... strange, I suppose. Nervous. Quiet. Stressed. I asked, but they wouldn't tell me what was going on. They just smiled and said that everything was fine."

"Sometimes I heard them talking when they thought I was sleeping. They whispered so I couldn't hear what they were saying, but once I heard my mum say my uncle's name and she never talks about him. She told me that they'd had a big row and never talked since. She didn't want to say more, but I think it was something about You-Know-Who. I think he was a Death Eater." Henry's voice was so quiet Arthur almost couldn't catch it from the whistle of the air outside the train and the rumble of the railways. The boy shrunk in on himself, his gaze glued to the floor.

"And then there was today's article in the Prophet. Mum paled terribly as soon as she saw the newspaper and she called dad. She showed him the page and they went to their bedroom and locked the door. They only do that when they argue and they don't want me to hear. Which I sometimes still do, because they can be loud. I don't like that, but I know that people sometimes argue. My teacher from my primary school used to say that fighting means that people care. But today there was silence. That was the worst."

"They came back to the kitchen after half an hour and mum had red and puffed eyes, but she smiled at me and made me pancakes for breakfast. She never does that– she says they are too sweet for breakfasts. I managed to see the title of the article though. 'Merlin Returns To Fight You-Know-Who' it said."

Arthur choked on the air, surprised. He knew about the informing-the-civilians-about-the-danger and make-Voldemort-do-something-reckless parts of the plan, of course – he knew _all_ the parts of the plan. However, he never imagined the Prophet would print the article so soon, when they had nothing prepared to fight back yet. Arthur could only hope that Merlin and the others would be ready when the awaited reaction came.

 

*********

 

The whoosh of the jump ended suddenly and his feet hit the grass on the floor of the clearing unexpectedly. His left foot met the solid ground earlier while the right one kept falling, then finally got caught in a nature-created hole, a stark difference from the evenness of the pavement of Platform 9 ¾ from which Merlin had Apparated. The difference between levels couldn't be big, no more than two inches, but it was enough to affect Merlin's balance. He threw his arms out in order to regain it, but he stumbled forward nonetheless, almost falling on his face.

A hand caught his shoulder and steadied him. Merlin breathed deeply and turned around to thank his saviour, only to meet the unmistakeable messy hairstyle of Tonks. Her hair was turquoise today and the colour fitted her eyes nicely.

On the other side of the clearing there was a burst of badly-repressed laughter. Merlin looked that way, startled. Great, it seemed that some of the Aurors were there early enough to witness his almost-fall. By his side Tonks snorted, "Ignore them. Dumbasses!" she threw at the group of still giggling wizards.

Merlin scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "Don't worry. I'm used to it. Arthur always says I can trip over my own feet. Besides, shouldn't we make friends with them? We and Aurors are to fight together and today's training was meant to help us get to know each other."

"I am an Auror too, if you haven't noticed." She snorted again, at him this time, and left, saying nothing more.

Merlin looked around the clearing the Ministry used for Aurors' training sessions. It was big, almost the size of a football pitch, with neatly combed grass and surrounded by a wall of trees on every side. The floor was even, visibly having been altered by a human hand. Merlin sighed. It was just his luck to fall into the only hole in a range of hundred meters.

All of the Order were already there, though Moody, Tonks and Kingsley came in their Auror attires. They were at work, Merlin guessed. He understood perfectly the Order's need of having spies in the Ministry. He made a mental note not to approach them directly and not to show that he knew them.

The borderline between the Order members and the Aurors was painfully visible. They stood in two different groups, not interacting with each other. None of them looked like they actually wanted to be there. Maybe this session was a bad idea, after all?

Suddenly, the talking and laughing silenced and the Aurors quickly formed a well-trained array. A man with long dry-looking brown hair and a permanent frown on his face stepped forward and nodded at the Aurors, giving them a silent "At ease!" command.

Then he turned to the Order and Merlin felt a cold shiver run down his spine under the Head Auror's searching gaze that stopped directly on him.

The man closed the distance between them in a few quick-paced steps and held out his hand. "Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head Auror. Merlin Emrys, if I remember correctly?"

Merlin shook his hand, now recognizing the man's face. He had been present during Harry's Hearing. That's how he knew who Merlin was. "Nice to meet you," he answered firmly, not letting his voice falter. There was something dangerous and definitely unpleasant about the Head Auror, but from the warlock had heard about him, he was a good man. "The Order is already here and I assume that all the Aurors are present. There is no reason not to start the training session. Would you be so kind to take the lead?"

Scrimgeour looked at him strangely and then laughed sharply, "I thought you would like to do that, after what I saw at the Hearing of Mr. Potter. There was quite a fire in you when you gave us that speech. But yes, certainly, I will if you wish so."

Merlin could hear the strange mix of a praise and a jibe in Scrimgeour's voice. He had probably thought that Merlin wanted to became the dictator of the whole operation and the warlock blushed, realizing that that was exactly how the situation must have looked to the Aurors. No wonder they didn't like him.

He smiled in the friendliest manner he could manage. "Oh, I have no commanding skills and I haven't fought with anyone in a long time, so I'm rather... rusty. I planned to participate in the training with the others."

The calculating look returned to Scrimgeour's face with a hint of respect. "A wise man knows his weaknesses. I believe our work together will be fruitful, Mr. Emrys, and more pleasant that I thought."

Merlin's smile widened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you miss Henry? I sure did :) Also, I'm afraid that the updates are going to be more irregular from now on. I'm trying to speed up a bit, but we will see how it goes.


	20. Silence Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There are a couple of graphic descriptions in this chapter. It's nothing too explicit, but if you are triggered by that sort of things, please stop reading after the breaker. I'll explain what happened by merging a short summary into the next chapter.

A stray ray of light reached his closed lids. He groaned quietly and turned onto his other side to doze off, wanting to peacefully sleep through the remainder of the time he had left. He felt his limbs getting heavier again, sleepy haze taking rule over his mind. He started slowly to slip, losing all the remaining awareness of reality he'd had. A new scene started to play in his mind as if continuing and twisting the previous dream, but changing it completely at the same time.

He was sitting by a table, but everything was still blurry and undefined. Someone walked past him to sit on the other side of the table, but the man's face was hidden behind a wall of thick fog. The scene sharpened as he fell deeper into the dream. He could see a smirk playing on the man's thin lips. Any second now and he would see his face...

The alarm went off.

Merlin jumped in his bed, sitting up immediately. His hand grabbed the phone and switched the alarm off in a taught, not entirely conscious movement.

He stayed like that for a moment, shaking off the sleepiness. He ran his hand through his messy hair and rubbed his eyes. Dragging himself off the bed seemed an unachievable goal and he wondered if he could just fall back under the warm duvet even if only for a few minutes.

When he finally got up and prepared himself for the awaiting day, he was entirely grateful that last night he had decided to set the alarm earlier than necessary. Of course, he could have slept as long as possible and rushed through his morning duties; he had certainly done that in Camelot more often than not. But there was something relaxing about lazy mornings and not having to jump around frantically, trying to do everything at the same time.

His reflection in the bathroom mirror greeted him with dark bags under his eyes and unhealthily pale skin, but Merlin ignored it, concentrating on getting dressed and brushing his teeth. Nothing he could do about his current appearance anyway.

Lately, he was running between training sessions and patrols all the time and it seemed that the exhaustion was starting to take its toll on his body. Merlin knew he needed to refrain from overextending himself and give himself a moment to breathe.

He hadn't lied to Scrimgeour that he hadn't fought in a real duel in a long time. He had defeated Bartemius Crouch Jr., true, but he had had Arthur to distract the man. Then they had trained together but, to be perfectly honest, Arthur couldn't stand a chance against him in a magic duel. Those hours they spent together were more for the king than for Merlin.

Training with the Aurors, he participated in his first real magical fight in years. He knew he could throw any spell and any curse he had learned ever since Camelot with a deadly precision and perfect technique, but his reflexes were practically nonexistent. He had almost forgotten the mindlessness of a battle, the lack of time to think. That's why he concentrated his training on speeding up his reactions and rooting in himself instinctual responses to the most common spells.

The results were impressive. His fighting skills and fitness level had never been this good. However, Merlin hadn't stopped when he was satisfied with himself. Once he regained his skills, he started to help other trainees.

Everyone's command of spells was improving rapidly. Moreover, sometime in the training the Aurors and the Order's members started to work together as a team. Everything was running smoothly, but then, about a month ago, Rufus decided it was high time they started to patrol the most probable places of the Death Eaters' attack. People are scared by the articles in _The Prophet_ , he said, and they need to see that we are protecting them.

Merlin, as the main figure of the propaganda in the fight against Voldemort, was given the busiest schedule. He was supposed to show off anytime he could, Apparating with a flash or cloud of smoke, casting deep magically-conjured shadows to hide his figure, and acting like a mysterious hero from fairy tales. Merlin hated it with a passion, but he complied with the Ministry's wishes, knowing that they were necessary.

To his utter surprise, he found people flocking to him, wanting answers to their questions regarding You-Know-Who and assurance that everything was under the Ministry's control. Merlin spent hours just talking to the crowds. It was exhausting, mostly mentally. He had never been that good with people and speeches, much preferring to stand in Arthur's shadow.

Even then however, he didn't stop attending every training session he could. He couldn't help but think that every hour spent at the clearing polishing the Aurors' skills could be one fallen warrior less.

Merlin knew he couldn't keep going like that. He needed time off, needed sleep. At this rate exhaustion would kill him before he even faced the Dark Lord for a second time.

Besides, it was two months into the new school year already and no one had seen even a trace of Death Eaters. The feeling of danger was flooding the air; people were on the verge of panic, and they didn't even know from which direction the blow would fall.

Merlin sighed, returning to the reality. Outside a window in the guest room he occupied in 12 Grimmauld Place the sun was slowly hiding under the horizon. The clouds covered most of the sky and trees danced, moved by piercing wind. November was cold this year. Merlin really wished he didn't have the night patrol today.

He tugged a thicker robe under his arm and went down the stairs to the small kitchen. He was welcomed by the smell of coffee and the figure of Sirius sitting by the table, sipping the hot drink from his favourite mug. It had a pattern of paw marks and sketched puppies on it. Merlin found it adorable.

He didn't say anything besides a quick "Good evening", knowing that engaging Sirius in a conversation would only lead to increasing the bad mood Padfoot had been having lately, frustrated that he was the only member of the Order of the Phoenix not allowed to attend the training sessions. Merlin really felt for him, but there was nothing they could do about it with the arrest warrant after the man.

"A night shift?" Merlin nodded in response, opening the fridge and finding it almost empty. So cereal it was. Merlin made himself a bowl. "There is some coffee left. Help yourself."

"Thanks." He took a mug and sat at the table next to Sirius. The cereal didn't look particularly inviting, but he dug in anyway. He hadn't known he was hungry, but he felt the emptiness in his stomach as soon as he swallowed the first spoonful of the cereal. He devoured the rest of the portion in a record time. When the bowl was empty, he moved on to his coffee.

"They printed another article." Sirius sent him a meaningful look. Merlin froze with his mug halfway to his lips.

"So soon?" his eyes went wide for a second, then he frowned, "Nothing's happened yet and they still have something to write about. What a wonderful imagination they have." Sarcasm was dripping off his voice.

Sirius smirked, "Nah, you overestimate _The Prophet_. It's the same article, only slightly altered."

"You're probably right." Merlin sighed, letting his gaze wander. His eyes fell on the clock on the wall. "Shit, gotta go." He left the dishes in the sink for later and with a quick "Bye" thrown in Sirius' direction he Apparated to Diagon Alley.

He thought he would meet a normal rush of people in a crowd, a jumble of sellers and interweaving smells of food. He thought he would land in a circle of the other wizards assigned to his patrol, already making fun of him for his lateness.

Instead, he was met by a total chaos.

 

 

*********

 

 

Spells were flying everywhere. People ran, pushing and tripping each other. Lost children cried for their parents until someone's hand pulled them forward, away from the danger. Pained screams of the wounded pierced his ears. Bodies lay on the pavement like broken puppets.

Merlin froze. He blinked once, twice, waiting for the nightmare to fade away. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to wake himself up. But when he opened them again, nothing had changed. A running woman hit him with her shoulder by accident and Merlin almost fell back with the force of the push.

Visions couldn't touch him. Dear god, he wasn't dreaming.

His body moved before his mind fully took in the sight. Without even realizing what was happening and why, he started to run against the flow of people, shielding the passers-by from stray curses every time he noticed one. He pushed forward, restless in his fight to get to the centre of the events, to stop this blood bath.

The street was getting emptier and emptier with every meter he ran. The people Apparated from Diagon Alley in haste or disappeared behind the door of one of the houses. Soon, he was the only one on in the alley.

The sounds of fighting got louder when he carefully turned behind a corner and quickly jumped to take another, but he was stopped midway in his tracks by a dark figure walking out from the street Merlin was about to turn into. He backed abruptly, raising a shield of Old Magic in case _Avada Kedavra_ was sent his way, but the Death Eater only smiled under his black hood. The figure smirked, "Greetings from the Dark Lord."

And he threw his arm out in the sky, splitting dark smoke into the air. Dark clouds gathered, covering the sky and forming a huge skull with a snake crawling out from one of the eye socket.

Shocked, Merlin cast a spell towards the dark figure a touch too late and he could only watch as the Death Eater Apparated from the corner of the street. The dark smudges of fog following him indicated that the other attackers followed his lead.

Merlin leaned against the wall of the building he had been standing next to and slowly slid down to sit on the pavement. He still couldn't process what had just had happened. He covered his face with his hands to try to wake himself again, but he knew deep down that it was impossible no matter how much he wished for it.

Thoughts in his head jumped frantically. _"Oh god, all these people- Where are Jason and Peter and Barty and the others? They were supposed to wait for me..."_

His legs stretched on their own accord. Merlin hadn't noticed until his foot bumped onto something. Slowly, he uncovered his eyes to meet an empty gaze of a pretty brunette. Blood was slowly dripping off her lips, still open in a silent scream. Merlin's breath hitched as he froze, staring at the body.

The girl stared back with an accusation in her empty, green eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I know I promised an earlier update, but I didn't manage to after all. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait.


	21. Darkness Rising

"How could you let that happen?! There were two teams – two bloody teams of the best trained wizards in the country! Twelve Defense Against the Dark Arts specialists and you couldn't withstand eight Death Eaters?! The whole of the Wizarding world is shaking apart with panic because you couldn't do your job!" Scrimgeour roared at ten of the wizards who were supposed to have guarded Diagon Alley the previous evening. The Aurors and Merlins' gazes were glued to their boots, their faces ashen with guilt and lack of sleep, their shoulders slumped in silent defeat.

"We have seventeen casualties and forty-two injured civilians in St. Mungo's! Jason was shot with so many curses and hexes it's a miracle he's alive. Howard didn't have such luck." Scrimgeour's voice dropped and gentled, some of the anger fading from it, overpowered by sadness caused by the loss of one of their soldiers.

The wizards' heads bowed even lower, having nothing to defend themselves with. They could say that the attack had come out of nowhere, that no one had expected it after two months of utter silence from Voldemort's followers. They could claim that they couldn't have done anything more, having been on the other side of Diagon Alley when Death Eaters had appeared. But those would be nothing more than empty excuses. They had been training for this fight almost daily for the past two months. They should have been prepared for this moment to come. The blame for the deaths laid on their shoulders.

Scrimgeour sighed. He looked just as sick as any of them, pale and overwhelmed by the suddenness of the last night's events. "That's all for today. You are excused from today's and tomorrow's patrols." His gaze softened and warmed, unwittingly showing a glimpse of true compassion. "Go home and rest, gentlemen. Spend some time with your families, go to bed. Use this leave to its fullest, while you still can afford to do so. I'm afraid that there are many more fights and much more grief awaiting us," he paused. The heavy silence almost hurt their ears.

"Dismissed."

 

*********

 

"Arthur! Have you heard?" Arthur stopped abruptly right where he had been walking, which happened to be the very centre of the second floor's main corridor, ripping an annoyed huff from the person walking behind him and making them walk around. The blond turned around to search for the source of the voice, trying to see over the heads of the crowd walking past him like a river circling an island, but with his twelve-year-old body he was much shorter than most of the students, so he only noticed the flash of brown hair that belonged to Henry when he was a few meters before him.

"Heard what?" he almost shouted, trying to get his words to Henry through the noise of so many people talking over each other. The constant hum accompanying a break between lessons was even louder than normal. Arthur hadn't noticed it before, but Hogwarts was indeed buzzing with agitation today. He quickly checked through his memory, but the Quidditch match was still over a week away and the visit to Hogsmeade was supposed to be sometime in December. As far as Arthur knew, it was a just normal, boring-as-hell Wednesday. _Maybe there is some new hot gossip circling_. Arthur dismissed a sudden nervousness arising in his guts.

"About the Death Eaters' attack in Diagon Alley! Everyone is talking about it." There was a sharp edge to Henry's voice, a wild mix of emotions, but Arthur didn't hear it, too shocked by the news. His mind went blank for a moment, then a thousand thoughts exploded at the same time.

The hum of voices got louder. Arthur felt a desperate need to know more, but they couldn't have this conversation here. He made a quick decision, gripping Henry's sleeve and pulling him in the direction of the classroom where they had their next class. They turned into a corridor that branched off from the main one. Thankfully, the crowd lessened there, but Arthur pushed forward, ignoring Henry's protests. They turned once more, passed by the Defense Against the Dark Arts' classroom and entered an abandoned men's restroom.

"Arthur! It hurts!" Henry whined, and it was only then that Arthur realized he was squeezing the boy's wrist in a death grip. He let go immediately, mumbling an apology. "It's ok," Henry reassured him with a faint smile. Then his face grew serious again.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" Arthur pinned Henry with the icy blue of his eyes, trying to show him how important it was for him to know. Henry met his gaze and a river of emotions passed through his face in a fury of not-entirely formed expressions, so fast that Arthur could only catch the small changes, but not solve the meaning behind them. A light frown running through the boy's forehead for a second, a small reddening of his cheeks, lips pressed in a thin line, an almost-unnoticeable tick of his lids. Slowly, Henry's face went blank only showing fierce determination, nervousness and trust shining brightly in his eyes.

"Yesterday, I think it was near eight pm, but I'm not sure, sorry, Death Eaters Apparated to Diagon Alley and attacked people. They just started to shoot spells and curses and such. People started to run and there was panic and no one knew what was going on. Then the Aurors appeared and fought with the Death Eaters, but they didn't have time to form any formation, sorry that sounds weird, doesn't it? So they fought with Death Eaters, but it was more like one-on-one duels and I heard that the spells flew everywhere. The Death Eaters pushed the Aurors back for a moment and then spread, running away from the wizards. The Aurors went after them, but then one of them, the Death Eaters I mean, conjured the Dark Mark in the sky. You know, the skull with snake creeping around it; it was as big as a cloud. People could see it from miles away. Then the Aurors caught up with them again, but the Death Eaters Apparated away and disappeared." Henry stumbled on words and kept trailing off in his story as he often tended to, but he gave Arthur an idea of what had happened in Diagon Alley. And the blond didn't like what he heard at all.

He was ripped out of his thoughts by the bell ringing for the end of the break. He could see that the suddenness of the sound made Henry jump in startled movement as well. Arthur shook off his uneasiness, hiding his emotions behind the blank mask of a seasoned diplomat. It wasn't the time nor place for contemplating their situation against the Dark Lord.

He moved in the direction of the door, turning back when he noticed that Henry hadn't followed him. "Come on! I've got a feeling that Umbridge is not going to miss a chance to give us detention, the toad."

 

*********

 

"Stop that, would you? Your pacing is driving me nuts." At those words Merlin sent Sirius a dark, annoyed look, but he sat down nonetheless.

"It's just that… It's just…" he couldn't find the right words to express what he felt.

"It's all my fault," he said finally in a small voice. Sirius' eyebrows furrowed in a frown and he closed the book he had been trying to read. He laid it on the coffee table before him and leaned forward, locking his gaze with Merlin's. His usually cheerful eyes were wiped out of all their mirth.

"How could this be only your fault? You weren't there alone now, were you?"

Merlin sighed heavily, looking at his feet, "I should have done more."

"How? By taking down that one Death Eater? That wouldn't change anything."

"If I weren't late, I could have prevented those deaths!" The anger in his own voice surprised even Merlin himself. Sirius' expression remained calm.

"Listen. The world doesn't revolve around you. Maybe your presence there would have helped, maybe not. We'll never know. Instead of blaming yourself, you should just not let it happen ever again."

Merlin raised his gaze and there was fire in Sirius' eyes. Fire that he felt lighting in his own heart. "Yes. We will make them pay for what they did." He almost didn't recognize his own voice, but he knew the words couldn't be truer.

Instead of answering, Sirius just smiled darkly.

 

*********

 

By the end of the month, there were three more attacks. Each of them targeted a widely-known and popular location. Even though the Aurors tried their best, each of the attacks increased the number of deceased civilians.

By the end of the next month, the Death Eaters and Aurors were waging a full-blown war.


	22. I Must Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is partially a nod to one of my reviewers *wink*  
> I'm always glad to receive any feedback. Constructive criticism is very welcomed too :)

The door to the mansion burst open under the force of the exploding spell. The people in the room had barely enough time to snap their heads around to face the sudden danger before Moody sent the first _Petrificus Totalus_ , disarming and immobilizing one of the residents of the mansion. The Auror entered the room, leaving space for others to quickly sneak inside the building after him.

The Death Eaters gathered inside finally reacted, gripping their wands and taking defensive positions. The flashes of many spells surging through the air lighted the room like fireworks, bright in the early evening's sunshine.

The fight ended quickly and without greater fuss. Having the element of surprise on their side, the Aurors had the upper hand over their enemies. They disarmed the Death Eaters who had been present in the room efficiently by petrifying them to make sure they didn't escape. The action was so fast only a couple of the Dark Lord's followers managed to Apparate out of the mansion.

Moody gave out the signal and the Aurors separated, going to search through the other rooms of the mansion. Two of them stayed behind to transport the petrified wizards to Azkaban, where they would hear the accusations against them and wait for their hearings.

Glancing around the room, which had been mostly destroyed in the fight, one last time, Merlin followed Tonks through the dark corridor Moody had assigned to them with a silent gesture. He tried to step as quietly as he could, grimacing each time the wooden floor creaked under his weight. He heard light steps and quickened breathing behind him, which assured him that another two Aurors were clearing that part of the mansion with them, covering their backs.

Keeping silent after a fight that had been loud and full of bright flashes might not seem like a very smart idea, but not letting the enemies know of their presence wasn't the point – the point was to not let the Death Eaters know that they were moving closer. There was a high possibility that someone had stayed behind instead of disappearing without a trace, perhaps wanting to impress the Dark Lord by killing an Auror or maybe wanting to fix their reputation of a ruthless warrior destroyed in one of the earlier fights. Among the Death Eaters there was nothing more important than gaining the trust and approval of Voldemort and there was nothing less lethal than the lack thereof.

The first three rooms they passed by were clear.

The door to the last room in the corridor was closed. They sneaked up to it at a painfully slow pace, but they managed to keep the silence. They took up convenient positions on both sides of the door and on Tonks' nod Dawlish – one of the Aurors Merlin had noticed earlier – gripped the handle and slammed the door open.

At first glance the room seemed empty. Old and expensive-looking furniture took up most of the space. The bookshelves heavy under the weight of a large variety of books, a desk covered in papers stocked in piles and only one sofa indicated that they had found an office. Large windows allowed the light in freely, flooding the room in golden rays.

They entered the room warily, keeping their wands up, ready to cast a spell at any second. They moved forward slowly, their gazes searching the office for any signs of danger.

The floor wailed loudly under Tonks' feet. Merlin turned to her to send her an annoyed look, but a sudden movement in the corner of his vision caught his eye. A woman jumped out from where she had been hiding behind a particularly thick shelf. Her wand flicked, conjuring a flash of red light in their general direction. Merlin doubted she had aimed.

The spell flew directly at him and Merlin made a sudden ducking movement, throwing his body to the side. He could see another flash of spell, this time coming out of Dawlish's wand, when the witch's hex grazed his arm, ripping his sleeve.

The woman's body hit the floor heavily and Merlin frowned with distaste. That _had_ to hurt.

The other Auror, whose name Merlin didn't remember, checked the corners of the room before announcing that it was clear. Then he nodded at Dawlish and they lifted the petrified woman in order to take her to the other captured Death Eaters.

"That was neat," Merlin smiled to Tonks as soon as the men left the office. "We are getting better and better at these round-ups."

Nymphadora smirked at him in agreement through her green fringe that had fallen on her face sometime during the fight. Then her expression turned to thoughtful. "Shame Snape doesn't know where we could find Voldemort yet."

Snape was their spy amongst the Death Eaters, but he hadn't consolidated his position in their ranks yet. The Ministry couldn't agree which important information he could deliver to the Dark Lord and the red tape was making it only more difficult.

Merlin made himself smile lightly, "That would be something, but still. What we just did, it matters. No point in thinking about the negatives when we have just managed to capture at least fifteen Death Eaters. It may not look like a big victory, but it's another small step towards winning the war."

Tonks nodded in agreement. "Nothing more to do here. Come on," she urged him to return to the others, pulling him by his sleeve. The loud sound of ripping material stopped both of them in their tracks.

Merlin scowled, "Great. Now it's enormous. I'll have to spend twice as much time sewing it back. Just great." He continued on mumbling under his nose.

This time the silence of the corridor was interrupted by Tonks' peal of laughter. "You monster," Merlin threw at her, but he couldn't stop the corners of his lips from twitching as well.

 

*********

 

Arthur sighed, burying his head in his hands.

Only three hundred words more. It couldn't be so difficult to add only three hundred words to his essay on Transmutation for McGonagall to meet the limit. It was nothing, really. Just a couple of sentences more and he'll be done. It was the perfect amount of words to sum up his divagations and wrap the topic nicely at the end anyway.

Arthur's blank mind suggested otherwise. He groaned with frustration. Geez, who was he lying to? It was a living nightmare. He had no idea what to write about and it was killing him. If only he had started the essay earlier, not on the night before it was due.

He looked up from the source of his annoyance - the parchment of paper lying on the desk before him - to the clock on the wall. It was getting late. There were only about twenty minutes left before the lights-out. Arthur felt worry sink in his guts.

It wasn't that he wouldn't finish the essay on time – he could write the end even during breakfast if he was truly desperate. No, this was about Henry.

The boy had been late for today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, because, as he told Arthur later, "Matt Fisherman was leaving Stacy Hawking a love letter and he was so stressed, Arthur! So I had to go with him and help him! And he was hesitating and it took him _so long_! And when he had finally given it to her, I realized I was on the other side of the castle, so I had to run to be in class on time, only by then it was impossible to be there on time, it was too late, you see. But, _Arthur_ , it was only five minutes! How could she give me a detention? She should have just taken some points from Gryffindor!" Arthur agreed with the boy wholeheartedly, but he couldn't do anything about the toad's decision. Umbridge was a teacher, so she had the right to punish them in any way she saw fit. Besides, the whole school knew already that arguing with her only made it worse.

The blond returned to his essay reluctantly, trying to concentrate on the Transfiguration problem, but he couldn't help glancing at the clock every couple of minutes.

He managed to write one sentence more when he heard the Fat Lady's portrait open and Henry entered the Gryffindor common room. Arthur felt the worry leave his body, but then it returned with double the force when he noticed the boy's puffy eyes and reddened nose.

Arthur was by Henry's side in a fraction of a second. "Henry, what happened?"

The boy looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head so Arthur couldn't see his expression. "It's nothing. It's late. I have to-" He attempted to walk away to hide in their dorm, but Arthur grabbed him by his hand.

The boy winced. He tried to pull his hand back, but Arthur tightened his grip, moving it to Henry's wrist to avoid causing any more pain. He pulled the hand closer to examine the wound.

In sloppy and untidy handwriting, that Arthur knew sickeningly well, on Henry's palm was carved as if with the use of a knife, _"I must not be late."_

 

*********

 

Arthur reminded himself to knock instead of slamming the door with far too much force to show exactly how furious he was.

"Come in!" The voice on the other side of the door was too cheerful for Arthur's taste and hard to bear with his current mood. It took all his will to walk in and close the door behind himself quietly, like a normal person would. He wanted to destroy things, wanted to fight and yell. Preferably at vicious hags in pink ill-fitted dresses and ugly cardigans.

Dumbledore raised his head to look at the newcomer and his lips stretched into a thin, polite smile. "Arthur. What can I do for you tonight?"

Arthur contained another explosion and forced himself to answer in a similarly polite tone. "Do you know Henry Gordon? He is my roommate." He waited until the headmaster nodded in a silent affirmation, inviting him to go on. "Today he was late for our Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson and Dolores Umbridge gave him a detention."

Dumbledore frowned, "Arthur, you know I can't influence how the teachers choose to punish students unless it's something that is against the rules, so-"

"It is," Arthur interrupted Albus, getting increasingly tired of the conversation. "Umbridge made him write lines with a Blood Quill. I've taken him to the infirmary, so the wound is already healed, but Madam Pomfrey can confirm my words." Dumbledore's expression was blank and Arthur could read nothing out of it. "I believe that Henry is far from the only victim. Harry has been given detentions almost weekly since the school year started."

Dumbledore shuffled a stock of papers lying on his desk, not meeting Arthur's eyes. "I see. I'll look what I can do about it."

The dam broke. Arthur really tried, but he could no longer contain his fury, not with the headmaster being like that – so _unconcerned_ , as if he didn't even care.

His voice was deadly calm and as cold as ice. "You will _look_?" When silence met his words, a flame of anger shined through the iciness of his tone. He spoke louder now, with more bite and less studied calmness, "She is hurting your students, has been hurting them for months, and you will _look_ what you can do? They are your responsibility! How could you even let this happen?! How could you not know?!"

The sharpness of Dumbledore's glare stopped him from saying more. "Contrary to what you may believe, I'm not omniscient. However, I said that I would look at the case. You should consider the matter closed."

"It better be," Arthur all but barked. "Do something about her or I'll take care of it myself."

He turned around, walking to the entrance, but his attempt at a dramatic exit was shattered when he almost collided with a figure standing on the other side of the door.

He was more than a few inches taller than Arthur. In the darkness of the corridor the color of his tie was barely visible, the green gleaming only where the candlelight from Dumbledore's office could reach it. His usually carefully-combed hair looked mussed and as white as snow in the weak light. He had dark bags under his eyes and a haunted look on his face.

It took Arthur a moment to recall a name to the person. _Draco Malfoy._


	23. Draco Malfoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you might have noticed that I've defined the total number of chapters in this work. It's just an estimated amount and it may change, because I don't want to rush anything, but we are slowly reaching the end of the story.  
> Hope you will enjoy the chapter!

Sirius leaned back on the kitchen top with his hands crossed on his chest. _The kitchen in 12 Grimmauld Place is slowly becoming the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix with all the meetings and discussions we have in here_ , Merlin mused.

"So you really want me to believe that Draco Malfoy told you that Voldemort lives in his house?" Sirius raised his eyebrows in evident disbelief.

Tonks sighed, "That's what Dumbledore said. I think it's more of a trap to lure us out."

"That's more probable," Sirius agreed, "and makes much more sense, if you ask me. Why would he tell us that if it wasn't a trap? Because he wants to help us? Sure, and I'm the Wizard of Oz."

Sirius let his words linger for a moment, than sighed, "Lucius Malfoy has been a Death Eater for longer than I care to remember and the boy would never do anything against his father's wishes."

"Dumbledore said that he was terrified. Utterly desperate. He said that the boy wouldn't have come to ask for our help otherwise. He's way too proud, or so the headmaster says," Merlin cut in. He didn't know what to think about the situation himself. He had never talked to Malfoy; he had only heard about him from Harry, Ron and Hermione, and they certainly hadn't seemed very fond of the boy.

Sirius laughed darkly, "And you believed him? He's a Malfoy. All they do is lie."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course we didn't believe him. We are waiting for Snape to confirm that info before we even consider doing anything." Tonks' voice was as tired as Merlin felt. There were dark bags under her eyes as well, Merlin noticed with little surprise.

The war was taking its toll on everyone. The Order's members, the Aurors, the civilians, everyone had had enough. If Draco Malfoy was telling the truth, if they knew where Voldemort was, they could end the war almost instantly. Merlin couldn't remember wanting anything more in centuries than he wanted the Malfoy boy to be right.

 

*********

 

Harry easily spotted the person he had been searching for in the almost-empty hallway. He was more than a little annoyed. He had never thought that looking for Malfoy could take as long as an hour. But, well, Hogwarts was quite a big place after all.

Harry had wanted to catch Malfoy ever since he had talked with Sirius about the blond. Padfoot had managed to contact Harry in secret via one of the school's fireplaces. During the conversation Sirius told him about the information Malfoy had delivered to the Order and asked him what his thoughts about it were. Did he believe Malfoy had told them the truth? To be honest, Harry hadn't known how to answer that question, didn't know even now. And it was eating him alive. What were Malfoy's intentions? Were they good or bad? Was it a simple distraction technique or a trap being set for the Aurors? Harry couldn't work it out on his own and neither Ron nor Hermione helped. Therefore, he decided that he had to ask the very source of the disturbance – Malfoy himself.

That's how he ended up running around the castle to find someone he had thought he would never have to seek out in this life or the next one. Needless to say, Harry wasn't particularly happy about it, but when the needs must and so on.

"Hey, Malfoy!" Harry threw after the blond, capturing his attention. Malfoy immediately turned around to face him, taking a defensive position, his hand wandering off to his wand but not taking it out. His gray eyes grazed the now empty hallway, then focused on Harry entirely.

His lips bent with disdain. "What, Potter? Looking for a new source of entertainment now that you aren't in the centre of attention anymore?"

Harry felt how his brows furrowed in annoyance. He had promised himself that he wouldn't be thrown off by Malfoy's comments, but he just couldn't help himself. However, he managed to answer calmly, "Surprisingly, no. It's about what you told Dumbledore."

Malfoy's patronising frown turned into a horrified expression. He jumped forward, gripping Harry by his shoulders so tight Harry felt faint stings of pain when Malfoy's fingers dug into his flesh. The blond ignored the sharp "Hey! What do you think you are doing?" from the victim of the sudden assault and pushed Harry backwards into the nearest, thankfully empty, classroom. Harry thought that it would be better not to imagine what the whole situation had to look like to a theoretical viewer. Well.

As soon as they were inside the classroom, Harry shoved Malfoy back, releasing himself from the blond's grip. "What the heck, Malfoy?"

Malfoy ignored his whining once more. His body language impersonated pure fury when he hissed, "Who told you about that conversation? That little blondie who is always in your orbit recently? Did he eavesdrop on us? Or was it Dumbledore himself?"

Harry moved his weight from one leg to the other, contemplating his answer. "What does it matter?"

Malfoy's eyes became harder than steel. "Fine, don't tell me," he sneered, "but don't you dare judge me. You have no idea how it is, having _Him_ in your home. Watching your every step, every move, because you can't afford doing anything wrong. Watching your own father grovel and bow all the time as if he was _no one_. You have no idea."

Harry felt his blank expression fall under those words, showing compassion of all things. It lasted only for a second before Harry pulled himself together, but it was enough for Malfoy to catch. His brows furrowed even more, anger shining bright behind his eyes. Then he turned away and walked out of the classroom, throwing one last full-of-loathing gaze at Harry.

Harry thought about running after him for a moment, but decided against it. He didn't know how he felt about this entire exchange. Malfoy had thrown him off in a way he wasn't prepared for and it bothered him. He made Harry pity him.

It didn't matter anyway, because now Harry had his answer. Malfoy hadn't lied.

 

*********

 

Arthur stared at the instruction in sheer determination, doing his best to translate the letters into words that made any sense, but he knew that he was failing miserably. Henry was jumping around him with purpose, making the potion all by himself, while Arthur didn't even know what kind of potion they were making. What a disaster.

Arthur groaned in frustration in the safety of his mind. The last thing he wanted was to attract the attention of Snape, who undoubtedly would not even hesitate to send him a sarcastic comment that wouldn't help Arthur in any way and would only make him even more restless.

Arthur just couldn't concentrate. All he could think of was that the second day since his exchange with Dumbledore was passing, and the headmaster had still done nothing about Umbridge. It had been bothering Arthur constantly ever since he had seen the wound on Henry's palm. Now that he thought about it he should have gone to Umbridge herself to solve this _issue_ in that instant rather than asking the headmaster for help. Why the professor was sitting bone idle in his office when that hag was still walking on the school grounds was beyond him.

What a disaster indeed.

Arthur didn't even notice when Henry poured the finished potion into a small bottle, signed it with both of their names and delivered it to Snape's desk. He was awoken from his thoughts only when the bell rang, announcing the end of the lesson, exactly when Henry returned to their desk.

They cleaned the desk of the ingredients and then packed their notebooks and quills in silence, Henry sensing that Arthur wasn't in the mood for talking. It was lunch break, so they walked in the direction of the great hall, easily melding into a crowd of other students.

Soon enough they reached their destination and turned to the Gryffindor table.

Nodding at Harry, Ron and Hermione, they sat beside the trio. Still too busy in his thoughts, Arthur scarcely ate anything. He wasn't really hungry, never had been when something was nagging at his conscience. However, he made a point to pull Henry into a casual little talk. Arthur knew that Henry could easily read the silence wrong, assuming that Arthur was angry at _him_ , and that was the last thing Arthur wanted.

He tried to talk to the trio and to Henry at the same time, but quickly his entire attention focused on the boy. Soon, he lost the track of the other conversation, but then one name caught his interest.

"What was that about Umbridge?" He looked at Ron expectantly.

"She gave Harry another detention. For nothing, as usual. I swear if she keeps..." But Arthur was no longer listening to the redhead. His eyes caught the movement of Harry pulling his sleeve further down to cover his bandaged palm in a flow of over-consciousness. It made Arthur see red for a moment. Regaining control over his emotions, he straightened himself, knowing that the decision about what to do, or rather _not do_ regarding Umbridge was already taken.

Arthur stood up suddenly, startling everyone around him and interrupting Ron midsentence. "Sorry, I need to go to restroom," he excused himself and left the great hall as fast as he could, checking to see if anyone was following him. Nobody was, for that he was thankful, but he could see his friends' curious gazes glued to his figure.

He ran through the now empty hallways, not letting his decision waver. He knew that there were reasons, important reasons, why he had chosen going to Dumbledore instead of resolving the matter by himself, like _can't blow my cover_ or _how can a second-year threaten a teacher, it will only make her more vicious_.

While his mind was in an array of doubts and questions, his body sang with pleasure. He was finally going to _do_ something, not just sit back and watch. He could fight and change things and it _mattered_.

Arthur had no idea that he had grown so used to ruling during his last ten years in Camelot, that it had become an important part of his personality. He had had no idea how much he had missed making decisions and being in the centre of events. To be able to do those things again was great, even on this small a scale and only for a moment.

He opened the door to Umbridge's office without knocking.

Immediately, he was flooded by pink and trinkets and cats, of all things. Bleurgh.

From his right came an alarmed shriek, "What on earth?!" But Umbridge composed herself surprisingly quickly and soon the only expression on her face was a sugar-coated smile. "My, my, didn't your parents teach you to knock? I think a detention could fix that."

Arthur invited himself to sit on her chair, turning so that he faced her. He smiled at her warmly, though it cost him much to achieve a believable expression instead of a grimace. "I don't think so, Miss," he spat out the last word like a curse. "I don't think there's a need for any more detentions from your account. You see, I know what you are doing and I don't like it very much. I also know that what you do is illegal."

Her smile widened comically. "I don't know what you are talking about, my dear. And if that's all, we'll see each other again this afternoon at my classroom, usual time. And tomorrow too, and so on for the whole week. I don't tolerate impertinence."

Arthur couldn't keep his warm expression up any longer and he could feel the smile twist into something very, very scary, if judged by Umbridge's reaction. "I think we didn't understand each other. You see, I have friends, important friends. And they are that particular kind of people that when they tell the Minister to jump, he asks how high. I could make you lose your job in a second and make it so you wouldn't find another one. Or I could make you disappear. But," he paused for a better effect, "I really wouldn't like to bother. So I suggest you leave this school as soon as possible."

With that last remark, Arthur left Umbridge gaping at him and walked out of her office with a dark smirk playing on his lips.


	24. Malfoys' Mansion

He was sitting at the head of a long table that stood in the centre of a very dark room. The high windows were hidden behind thick curtains that didn't let any light inside. There were only a few candles lighted on each of the heavily ornamented chandeliers descending low from the high ceiling.

He liked the darkness. He enjoyed when people tripped on half-visible legs of the expensive chairs that stood around the table, squirming and grovelling in his presence. It made them even lesser than they were.

There were people sitting around the table. He liked the way their faces were barely recognizable, sharp shadows dancing on their pale-from-fear faces. The flickering fire gave their eyes a sparkle of madness.

But now his attention wasn't focused on the people sitting with him. Right now, his concentration was devoted to the woman trembling before him like a leaf. She had just brought him bad news.

"We lost the Notts' mansion today, my lord. We don't know how many were killed, but we estimate between five to ten. Nott and his wife's deaths were just confirmed. Another ten have been captured by the Aurors." Her legs shook as if they were ready to give away under her weight at any moment, her eyes wide and pleading for mercy, but her face was otherwise calm and expressionless. Her voice was unusually steady and didn't waver. It was... interesting. He understood now why they had sent her to relay him the news. But interesting was still too little to save her life.

He knew that this defeat wasn't her fault, per se. There were others that should have prevented this from happening, should have fought better, done more. But she had agreed to come here instead of those truly guilty. It didn't matter if she had been bribed or if they had blackmailed her. She was weak enough to say yes.

Coming here was her only mistake. Her last, too.

It was funny that, despite all the differences between the humans, their faces looked all similar when he was about to kill them. All the faces melted into one universal expression of despair, to him at least.

The woman's body slumped onto the floor with an empty thud. The man sitting on his right stood up and took his wand out. He cast a silent spell and the body rose into the air. The man followed the levitating body out of the room in a ringing silence. The heavy door clicked behind him.

He drummed his long, almost-white fingers on the hard surface of the table. "Now. Can somebody tell me how it is we are losing?" His lizard-like eyes jumped from one person to the next of those sitting around the table, but each of them averted their gazes when he reached them. He smiled coldly, mercilessly. "People may get the wrong idea, don't you think? That the Ministry and its pet Aurors actually have a chance against _me_." His voice rose steadily as he spoke finally turning into a scream on the last word.

Then he composed himself, a small smile dancing again on his thin lips, as an idea struck him. "Lockwood, gather the creatures. Bellatrix, my dearest, you take care of the wizards. Malfoy, inform Snape that we will need him."

"They think they can win. We have to prove to them otherwise and crush their hopes like annoying bugs under our boots. We are going to manifest our strength and strike where they are the weakest. We are going to conquer Hogwarts!" People around the table gaped at him with awe, smiling lightly in delight. Oh, he knew how to take care of his pets, how to make them happy.

His moment of triumph was interrupted by _a loud explosion on the other side of the mansion..._

 

Harry woke up with a wretched gasp escaping his lips, cold sweat running down his spine. _It was a dream, just a dream_ , he tried to calm himself but with little effect. It had felt so real, as if he really _was_ Voldemort for a brief moment. He felt hysterical at the possibility. But it couldn't be. It couldn't.

_Dumbledore, I'll talk with Dumbledore first thing in the morning_. The thought made him calmer. It helped to slow down his ragged breath and his heartbeat back to their normal pace. Soon, he fell into the world of dreams again.

 

*********

 

The garden was bathed in pale weak moonlight, giving it a disturbingly nightmarish look. The cold wind blew firmly, making the bare November branches twitch in a soundless dance. From time to time deep darkness covered the garden when another cloud hugged the moon, threatening the earth with a cold rain.

Merlin's legs were starting to itch and strain painfully where he was crouched behind a neatly-trimmed bush. His boots had drowned in the mud the minute he had squatted there. A long time ago the mud had to have been the garden's lawn before it turned into this swamp under the influence of the heavy rains. Merlin hoped that there weren't any spiders left in the twigs that brushed his cheeks and dug into his ribs. There probably weren't, not at this time of the year. _God, even spiders have more common sense than us_ , Merlin shrugged when another blow of the wind found its way under his robe.

Having taken down every one of the mansion's barriers and shields, there wasn't much for Merlin to do besides wait. He wiggled a little to shake off the numbness from his limbs, bored.

He looked around and saw that the others, in his line of sight at least, were growing impatient too, twitching and frowning in their positions.

When he looked at her, Tonks smiled at him wickedly from behind a thick trunk, shaking her head in amusement as he grimaced at her. A few stray locks, black this time and disturbingly normal (she never ceased to surprise Merlin, this woman), stuck to her lips, covering her cheeks. Merlin stuck his tongue out at her when she fought with her hair and she made a ridiculous face in return.

Lupin had to be a madman if he wanted to marry this witch and put up with her on a daily basis. Merlin had started to care deeply about her to the point that he thought of her as his annoying little sister, but she was crazy to the bone.

Merlin turned back to face the Malfoys' mansion. He shifted his weight to the other leg and cursed silently when the mud moaned wetly underneath him during the movement. Waiting was always the worst part of the show.

Merlin's eyes, pretty used to the darkness by now, caught sight of a shadow sneaking in the direction of one of the big French windows. The shadow, whom Merlin recognized as Moody, tried the handle of the window slowly, searching for any signs of enemy's presence inside. The window didn't budge when he pulled and Merlin watched Moody take out his wand and point it at the lock. After a silent spell, the Auror opened the window by an inch, trying it and waiting to see if he caused any commotion. He hadn't, because a moment later he gave the signal for the Aurors to start the operation.

They snuck up to the window and entered the room, careful not to make any sound. The mansion was even quieter and darker on the inside than from the outside, but they managed to get in without causing a fuss. When everyone was safely inside, Moody opened the door to the hallway. He took a thorough searching look into the corridor before giving them the 'all clear' sign.

They parted into smaller groups and spread, taking positions in the hallway. A pair of Aurors stopped by each new door, but they didn't enter yet, waiting for another command. They couldn't afford to make any mistakes and spook Voldemort out.

Merlin's eyes were glued to Moody, waiting for the signal patiently, so he didn't really know what happened. One minute they were standing in complete silence and the next a huge explosion at the end of the hallway lit up the corridor.

The fire lessened after a moment, giving a break to his tearing eyes. Over the ringing in his ears, Merlin could hear the wailing of the wounded and curses of the others. Chaos took reign over the operation, the original plan and most of the back-up ones falling apart.

Merlin knew that there wasn't any time to lose and bolted down the corridor, seeing in the corner of his eye that some of the wizards followed his lead. They ran through a small maze of stairs and hallways, looking for the grand dining room that Snape had named the most probable place to find Voldemort. Finally, they entered a spacious room before the main door, the very centre of the mansion. Merlin didn't even stop, wanting to continue his search through the other wing of the house when the red light of a spell flew a few inches from his ankle, stopping him in his tracks abruptly. Only then did he notice the Death Eaters.

A few mere seconds later Merlin was casting a spell at them, the others behind him doing the same. The otherwise dark room was suddenly lighted by a fountain of curses flying in every direction. All Hell broke loose. Merlin was shooting flashing spells from the tip of his wand almost constantly, barely recognizing who was the enemy and who was his friend in the constantly changing surroundings.

He had just put down a wild-looking witch when he heard Dawlish's scream coming from his left. "Watch out!" He threw a look in the direction of the Auror to see who was in danger and their eyes met, Dawlish's ones widening with fear.

The sting of the green lightning was faint, almost as if it wasn't there, but the flash of light was unmistakable. Huh, Merlin had thought that _Avada Kedavra_ would hurt like hell, but he barely even felt anything. He didn't have the time to decide if that was good or bad though, because the world was claimed by darkness and Merlin knew no more.

 

*********

 

The next morning Harry told Dumbledore about his dream, though reluctantly. In the sunlight the nightmare didn't seem as horrifying as it had in the night. Dumbledore however didn't dismiss the matter and promised to look further into it.

They had finished talking about the dream and were exchanging pleasantries when Moody arrived through the Floo net. He told them that Merlin had been hit by the death curse during the mission, that it had been witnessed by several Aurors. The mission was a failure and they had been forced to evacuate from the building.

Merlin's body was never collected.


	25. The Triple Goddess

Merlin opened his eyes abruptly and breathed in deeply, but the air hitched in his lungs like the first breath of someone who had almost drowned. _Or died_ , Merlin thought grimly. All he could see was the clouded sky above and he realized that he was lying on bare ground, the chill of it going straight to his bones.

The last things he remembered were the screams and explosions of the battle in Malfoys' mansion, Dawlish's wide eyes, and the green flash of _Avada Kedavra_ hitting his side.

Now, all he heard were a faint, but still calming, hum of water and the far-away tweets of the morning birds. He knew instantly that he was no longer anywhere near the Malfoys' manor. He could clearly feel that the only magic around was that which was radiating from the ground.

Slowly he sat up, propping himself up on his arms, and then froze, taking in his surroundings. He was lying on a lawn on the top of a hill that slowly descended into the waters of a lake. The ground's chilling hardness was a vivid contrast to the mud still glued to his boots. The large stones of the ruins around him peaked from behind the curtain of thick fog. Merlin got up in a daze. He felt weak and yet strong at the same time with the powerful magic of the place running through him like electricity.

The Isle of the Blessed hadn't changed much since he had last been here. He would have expected nature to claim the Isle back when there was no one to tame it, but the ruins looked as if they had been cut out directly from his memory. He half expected Nimueh to walk out from behind one of the huge stones with a smirk on her pretty too-young face.

He knew that there had to be a reason why he was here, why he had been _brought_ here. So he waited.

He waited for as long as his patience held. Minutes passed in the pulsing rhythm of the magic coursing through his body. Finally, he let go of the breath he hadn't known he was holding and turned to walk down to the small quay and return to the mainland. He certainly didn't want to risk Apparating in the centre of the Old Religion, knowing that mixing the old and new magic was a very bad idea.

He turned around on his toes only to stumble back in panic.

Cold fear seized his whole body and he felt his heart beating wildly in his chest. He tried to back away as far as he could, but his back hit a wall of stone after taking just a few steps. In the back of his mind he wondered how he could have not felt the presence that now overwhelmed his whole being.

The three women standing before him were still, so still one could confuse them with beautiful statues. There was no wind to ruffle their hair or play with their dresses. Now, Merlin couldn't hear anything but his ragged breath in the heavy silence that fell on the holy grounds of the Old Religion. There were three of them where he knew was only one.

Then, the youngest woman smiled at him. "No need to fear me, Emrys," she said kindly and Merlin dug his fingers into the stone behind him, his knuckles turning white. How could he not be frightened, standing before The Maiden Huntress, The Mother Goddess and The Death Crone themselves?

The Triple Goddess gestured him to step forward and he did so obediently. He knew better than to try to fight Her will. Merlin gulped and finally found his voice. "I died, didn't I?"

The Crone's lips bent only by a millimetre to show Her disapproval and Merlin's heart jumped with unease. "You should already know this, Emrys. You are magic incarnated and there is nothing such as death for you. Just like magic cannot fade away, you cannot stop being."

Merlin nodded, only slightly surprised by something that he had suspected for centuries, though he had never dared to check that theory. "You brought me here." It wasn't a question. "Why?"

"The path you are following will bring you to your defeat and that I cannot allow to happen. What was prophesied has to come."

Merlin frowned, "Prophesied?"

" _And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives,"_ The Maiden intoned in an unburdened, melodious tone, but Merlin could clearly feel the weight of the words. "Harry Potter must stand against Tom Riddle and fight him as his equal. The balance must be maintained."

"I don't understand." _All they talk is riddles_ , Merlin thought, unsettled. He hated riddles and could never read them in the correct way before it was too late.

"Tom Riddle is already marching on Hogwarts with his army, yet he is still divided. You should have destroyed the pieces of his soul that he hid like a dragon protecting its gold. Otherwise, he will remain undefeatable," The Crone snarled in her raspy voice. Merlin understood what She meant this time and flinched. Voldemort had to have Horcruxes, but how many? There still could be time to-

"It's too late to destroy them now," The Crone interrupted his train of thoughts. Before Merlin could answer however, The Maiden continued sweetly, "You failed me, Emrys, but you still have the power to make it right."

"You want to help me?" Merlin could hear that his voice was coloured with disbelief. There was nothing for free in the Old Religion.

"You are nothing but a tool in my hands, Emrys." It was the first time The Mother Goddess had said anything and Merlin felt something dark building in his guts. "But this will be the first time I give you a choice. The balance has to be maintained and nothing can disappear without a price. All the pieces of Tom Riddle will be no more but the one in his own body."

Merlin gulped, preparing himself. "And the price?"

"Your magic," The Maiden smiled. "It is time it returned to the earth."

Merlin's breath hitched in his throat as if someone had punched him. The feeling of wrongness and denial flooded his mind and he wanted to scream.

But he knew what he had to do. There was no other choice for him to make. When he answered, his voice was surprisingly steady even to his own ears, "Yes."

Immediately, pain bloomed in his whole body. He felt his magic being ripped from him and it was ten thousand times worse than any wound he had ever received. He knew he was screaming, but his mind shut out everything that wasn't pain.

When he finally passed out, it was with relief.

 

*********

 

Arthur didn't believe that Merlin had died even for a second.

He had no doubt that it was just another way Merlin came up with purely to tease him and make him worry for no reason. Or he had just run away to save the world on his own again, even though he had promised he wouldn't. Arthur would be really angry if he broke that promise.

He dismissed Dumbledore when he informed him about the failed mission, trying to be gentle of all things. He laughed at Harry's worried expression. When the Aurors came to evacuate the school, he tried to cheer Tonks up by telling her stories of a dozen other situations when Merlin had supposedly been killed only to come back in one piece.

The very thought of Merlin dead was absurd; like snow in summer or sky coloured in red. It just couldn't be. Period.

That was what he told Henry before sending him back to the boy's family. Henry had proved to be quite stubborn, wanting to stay in Hogwarts and help, and he wasn't the only one. Lots of students expressed their disagreement with the sudden dismissal, but even the seventh years weren't allowed to fight, as they were still only civilians. Persuading them to leave however wasn't that simple. Hogwarts was their home and they wanted to defend it at all costs. Only the presence of the Aurors prevented the students from showing insubordination towards the direct orders they had received.

The evacuation finally ended and the school was suddenly unnaturally quiet. The only ones left were the Aurors, the Order of the Phoenix, the teachers and Arthur.

Among the adults, Arthur felt his young body becoming more and more of a burden. He had lost count of the times that someone he didn't know tried to send him home as if he was just another student. It annoyed Arthur to the point that he decided to quit walking round alone and stick with Tonks and Lupin.

However, the greatest problem was the oncoming battle. Arthur had changed his wand back into his sword like Merlin had instructed him to ages ago, wanting to be ready at any moment, but it only increased his annoyance. His swings were mostly uncontrolled and his grip on the handle very unsure. How could he fight with his short legs and weak muscles that could barely raise Excalibur into the air? Arthur counted on Merlin to bloody come back and fix him.

No, Arthur didn't believe in Merlin's death. More than worried, he was angry with him for putting him in this difficult position. He was already preparing a speech to let Merlin know what he thought about him playing dead when there were important things to do. Explicitly.

But then Lupin gasped and said in a shocked voice, "The Hogwarts wards just fell. Those made by Merlin."

Even before he finished the sentence, Arthur felt the familiar shift in his belly. His robe, the one Merlin had made out of his armour, returned to its initial shape. Arthur felt its weight on his now-broad shoulders and he realized he was older again.

Arthur's stomach clenched in cold dread and, for the first time, he doubted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I confess to enjoy causing pain to my characters.
> 
> But really, it's not my fault that Merlin is such a magnet for trouble. I swear he likes to put himself in those situations ;)


	26. The Battle of Hogwarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the title of the chapter says, it's my version of the Battle of Hogwarts, so there is pretty much violence and some blood. Again, there is nothing more explicit than in the canon, but please don't read if it bothers you.

The Dark Lord's attack on Hogwarts came just after the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

The patience of the school's defenders was growing dangerously thin at the time; the Aurors and the teachers were already tired after hours of waiting for the inevitable. All day long, those who had chosen to stay wandered around the castle like ghosts, looking for something useful to do. The heavy atmosphere was stretching their nerves more and more with every passing minute, only to worsen abruptly with the fall of Merlin's wards.

That's why, when the first combined curse of the Death Eaters hit the wards around the school with enough force to make the ground tremble beneath them, there was relief on their faces. Finally, the waiting was over.

They walked up the stairs in silence, their every step marked with determination, and reached the roof in time to witness the flash of a second spell being deflected by the wards.

They saw the creatures of darkness that currently served the Dark Lord surging forward and attacking the barrier with physical force. The Death Eaters stood behind them, waiting for their own turn.

"In positions and ready to fire!" Scrimgeour yelled the order over the roar of the monsters. The numbness that had gripped the witches and wizards dissipated under the insisting tone of the Head Auror, leaving only the feeling of surrealism behind. They shuffled forward, joining their teams and drawing their wands. "Ready! Aim! Fire!" more orders found their way through the noise below. Immediately, a wall of spells filled the air.

The spells went through the wards without trouble and hit the army of creatures. Some of them fell under the force of the attack, but most roared with even greater fury than before. They crashed against the barrier with double the force of their previous attacks. The wizards sent another wave of spells at them, this time causing greater damage.

But the Death Eaters had apparently decided that it was high time for them to re-enter the battle. They raised their wands and cumulated their curses into one great blast that flashed so bright that dark spots danced before the eyes of the defenders and their hearing was somewhat dulled by the noise of it. The Aurors and teachers stopped their attack for a moment, too occupied by the physical distractions and the trembling of the floor, but they gathered back together as soon as the tremors stopped. Just when another blanket of biting spells hugged the army of monsters, eliminating most of them out of the battle, another combined curse hit the wards.

The flash was enormous, like a small explosion of an atomic bomb or a meteor hitting the surface of the earth. The wizards had to close their eyes to protect them from the light.

They felt the wards shake, twice. They flickered, trying to hold against the force of the curse, but the blast was too much for the old rusty magic. Without Merlin's improvements and additional layers, the wards had no chance. The barrier steadied for a second, then burst like a great bubble.

"Fire at will!" Scrimgeour's voice had lost some of its sureness, but it still boomed across the roof. However, it was already too late to do anything because, without any wards to stop them, the Death Eaters Apparated inside the school in a cacophony of insane laughter.

 

*********

 

Harry, Ron and Hermione heard the noises of the battle from where they were hiding in the entrance of a secret passage behind one of the stony statues. Even though they were under Harry's invisibility cloak, the spot made them feel much safer. They didn't dare leave it to watch the unfolding events, mostly because they were too afraid of being discovered by the Aurors and sent home.

They had stayed in the school against the evacuation order. Taking advantage of the chaos, they managed to use the cloak before all of the students were gone, disappearing from the sight of the Aurors organizing the evacuation.

It was an instinctual decision, one taken without much thought or consideration. They had known that the school was going to be under attack and they had wanted to protect it with all they had. But now, with the whole castle shaking around them and the portraits screaming in distress, fear clenched the teens' guts.

However, it was too late to change their minds, because then the wards fell and the Death Eaters entered the school.

Harry, Ron and Hermione took out their wands, determined to take out as many dark wizards as they could, and threw themselves into the fight.

 

*********

 

And so it went. Duel after duel, spell after spell, fighting both the Death Eaters and the exhaustion. Their bodies turned into deathly machines, causing havoc wherever they clashed their magic with the enemy's.

Time lost its meaning in the narrow candlelit corridors and treacherous staircases. Their feelings turned into indifference, leaving only cold determination and burning anger that fueled their muscles to keep going, keep fighting, even against the whole world if necessary.

They felt nothing when they stepped over another body, another fallen soldier. The time for tears was yet to come.

 

*********

 

Arthur pushed his sword forward, piercing the chest of a Death Eater before the dark wizard could attack him with another curse. The breath hitched in the man's throat, blood filling his pierced lung. His eyes widened under the sudden wave of fear as he was faced with death itself.

Arthur ripped the sword from the man's body, letting him fall to the floor. The blond took a step back, frowning with distaste but not letting guilt take over his mind. He had lost count of the people he had killed tonight long ago and the fight was far from being won yet.

He raised his sword, deflecting another death curse with practiced ease and swung his body back into movement, the adrenaline pushing him forward. He tried to close the distance between himself and the woman who had attacked him as soon as he could, but she blocked his every attempt, pushing him back with skill. He was almost hit by her spells a couple of times before he finally found an opening.

He rushed forward. She scrambled back, but not soon enough. Arthur took the opportunity and cut the air forcefully, reaching her rib cage. She screamed with pain and backed away. Their eyes met for a moment, then she dropped her gaze to examine the wound. Arthur knew that it was a mortal one and the witch realized it as well. She sagged down the wall, tears leaving hot trails on her cheeks, their fight the last thing she had in her mind.

Arthur refused to feel sorry for her. She had made her own choices that had led her exactly where she was now.

He walked past her, looking around and finding the corridor empty. He had just turned to the stairs, not having the privilege of Apparition, when a scream of pain reached his ears. He bolted forward to the classroom at the end of the corridor where the noise had come from. Once inside, he stopped for a second to take a hold of the situation.

A dark figure loomed over someone huddled into a ball in the corner of the room. From the heart-ripping whimpering and pleads for mercy that were constantly leaving the victim's throat, Arthur realized that the person was being tortured.

Twenty seconds later the Death Eater was lying motionless on the floor, tied, unconscious and with his wand broken, and Arthur was helping the wizard up. The red mop of hair was disturbingly familiar and Arthur was trying to recall the names of the elder Weasley siblings when he saw the face of the person he had rescued.

"Ron?! What are you doing here? Do you have a death wish? Wait, are Harry and Hermione also here? Do you know where they went?" The boy only shook his head and sobbed in response. Arthur's face gentled and he tugged the boy by his sleeve, propping him up with his other hand. "Come on, let's get you to safety."

They walked the corridor together, Arthur helping the boy walk on his weakened knees. Ron's eyes widened when he faced the destruction of the castle and the bodies on the floor. The witch with whom Arthur had fought earlier still lived, her breath heavy and loud. Arthur tried to protect Ron from the view, but the boy refused to avert his eyes.

They turned into another corridor, Arthur heading to the Room of Requirement that Merlin had told him about. _Ron should be safe there and I will be able to search for the other two_ , the blond thought, but then Ron yanked out of his grip and ran to one of the bodies on the floor, an Auror judging by the robe. "Ron, don't look. Please, it's better that way," Arthur pleaded, but the request fell on deaf ears.

Ron turned to him from where he was kneeling by the body, "He's breathing," he said breathlessly, looking at Arthur with awe and relief sparking in his eyes. Then he turned back to the man lying on the floor and started to shake him up by his shoulders. "Merlin! Merlin, wake up!" Only then did Arthur take a closer look on the man. The long limbs, thin as if belonging to a skeleton. A dark mop of unruly hair. Sharp cheekbones and straight nose.

_Merlin_. Alive.

Arthur breathed in deeply and rushed to help Ron wake up his best friend.

 

*********

 

Harry walked through the ground-floor corridor cautiously. It was suspiciously quiet all around him, only far-away sounds indicating that the fight was still under way. The corridor was empty. Even the portraits had abandoned their frames to watch the battle somewhere else.

Harry had lost Ron and Hermione sometime during one of the fiercer duels, in the chaos of spells, explosions and moving staircases. He hoped that they were still together and both fine, but he feared otherwise.

The silence was slowly driving him mad. It gave way to the _what-ifs_ that he wanted to cast away as far as he could. Had he killed Voldemort in that bloody graveyard, all this wouldn't have happened. He had been too weak, and now they were all paying for that weakness.

He had to end this battle, now and forever, before more people got injured or worse. _Think Harry_ , he told himself in his mind, not daring to break the silence, _Where would you go if you were Voldemort? Somewhere where everyone could see you triumphing, probably, but not in the centre of the fight. He wouldn't want to get his hands dirty._

He turned into another empty corridor, something nudging him to walk in that direction. The big windows on his right gave a clear view of one of Hogwarts' courtyards, but his eyes weren't used to the darkness thanks to the dim light of the school's passages. He couldn't even see the big tree under which Alastor Moody had turned Draco Malfoy into a ferret, once. He searched for the bent-with-age branches, squinting his eyes. Suddenly, a movement caught his eye, and he had enough presence of mind to duck and hide himself under the window. _Stupid, stupid idiot_ , he scolded himself silently. He had forgotten that he didn't have his invisible cloak on. With a candle lighting the corridor, he had been clearly visible for anyone outside. Now the question was: were they Aurors or Death Eaters he just saw?

A moment later mocking calls daring him to show himself answered the question.

Harry was trying to guess how many Death Eaters there were and decide whether he should fight or flee when a cold voice silenced them. _Voldemort._ Harry felt his hands starting to tremble slightly, but he quickly composed himself. If the Dark Lord was there, he would want to fight Harry by himself, with no one interfering. Therefore, Harry reasoned, he didn't have to trouble himself with the other dark wizards. And wasn't dueling with Voldemort the reason that he had stayed in the school in the first place?

Slowly, he stood up and turned to the entrance of the courtyard. He averted his eyes from any source of light on his way there to get his eyes used to the darkness, but when he reached the now-opened door, he raised his head high. He refused to give them the satisfaction by looking scared, even if his heart beat far too quickly.

It was just like the graveyard all over again. The darkness, the Death Eaters surrounding him and laughing at him, him against Voldemort, being on his own. Harry felt an unpleasant sensation of déjà vu hitting him at the sight.

He raised his wand and took a proper fighting stance, Voldemort mirroring his moves.

"Now, boy, I believe that your rescuer from our last meeting is occupied somewhere else, just like every other Auror. No one can help you this time, I'm afraid," said Voldemort, his tone full of mocking friendliness. Harry didn't answer, flicking his wand instead and sending the strongest _Expelliarmus_ curse he had ever conjured, but the Dark Lord neutralized it with a counter spell that made both of them explode midair.

"I don't need anyone. I'll kill you myself!" the boy spat angrily, but it only made the Death Eaters laugh again. Voldemort only smirked,

"Then prove it!" And with that he cast an _Avada Kedavra_ at Harry. Harry ducked, squatting, and immediately answered with another _Expelliarmus_ , and a _Petrificus Totallus_ just after at a slightly different angle. Voldemort jumped to the side, both of the spells missing him. However, the latter hit one of the Death Eaters, who fell to the ground in a spectacular fashion.

_This will go on forever until one of us makes a mistake, and it will probably be me at this rate_ , Harry realized while shielding himself from another spell with _Protego_. _Think, Harry! You have to know a spell that will reach him. If he only stayed put…_

Another curse almost hit him, grazing his clothes as he tripped over a plant. He managed to take control over the fall, rolling away from another two curses, but this situation gave him an idea. He didn't know a spell, but maybe only his magic and will would suffice. He got up and waved his wand, thinking desperately about the maze from the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament and how it could grab the contestants by their feet and ankles. He tried to push the plants around the Dark Lord with his mind, giving them an intent.

His lack of attention to the duel cost him a precious second and he wasn't able to duck from another curse. It wasn't _Avada Kedavra_ , thankfully, but it hit his shoulder hard, sending him backwards. He hit the ground with a _thud_ , scrambling up again as quickly as he could. He was already starting to feel tingling in the wounded area, his mouth twisted into a bitter grimace at Voldemort's self-satisfied expression. "And now's the time you die, Harry Potter!" The green light surged into Harry's direction.

He knew he didn't have the time and strength to duck in time, but he refused to die this way, standing and waiting for the killing blow like a mindless sheep. He raised his wand once again and pointed. Without thinking, Harry released a spell. A moment later, the red flash clashed with the _Avada Kedavra_ , creating an explosion. Immediately, Harry sent another instinctual spell, putting his all anger, worry and fear into it.

He saw Voldemort already starting to move out of the spell's trajectory, but then a thick climbing plant gripped his legs, not allowing him to take another step. Confused, Voldemort looked at his feet, letting his guard down, and the spell hit him in the centre of his chest. He let out a surprised gasp, and fell down, dead.

Harry didn't remember the chaos that exploded after that. He didn't see the Aurors who had been attracted by the commotion and now rushed to fight off the Death Eaters. He didn't hear anything besides a dull ringing in his ears. He just let his body fall to the cold ground like a broken puppet.

Harry looked up at the dark sky, not believing that it was actually the end. More than victory, he felt overwhelming numbness. He saw no stars in the sky, the blanket of clouds covering them tightly. Then he felt something cold and wet on his cheek. _Huh_ , the last thought found its way in his shutting-down mind, _it's snowing. For the first time this year. How nice._


	27. Epilogue

Arthur almost followed the black crowd leaving the funeral until he noticed the solitary figure still standing by the grave. Despite the bright winter sun shining directly on his face, he recognized the silhouette immediately.

He looked at the students, teachers and other important figures walking back towards the buildings of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, most of which were still being restored from the destruction that happened a month ago. It was far from the only funeral following the Battle of Hogwarts, as the event had been dubbed, but it was the grandest. Albus Dumbledore had been a well-known figure and had had many friends even among the greatest wizards of their time. They had all come to bid him the last goodbye.

Arthur spared them a last glance and then turned his back on them. He slowly closed the distance between himself and Harry.

The boy didn't look at him when Arthur stopped by his side, his whole body turned to where the late headmaster lay in his eternal sleep.

They stood just like that for several minutes, in silence that was still filled with thousands of words and a ton of tangled emotions.

"You know, it never crossed my mind that he could die. His presence was always so... _obvious_. As if he was an inseparable part of the school."

Arthur nodded, waiting for Harry to continue, but the boy remained silent. The blond shifted his gaze from Dumbledore's grave to the fifteen year-old, and said quietly, "He sacrificed himself to protect another wizard from a death spell. It's one of the most honourable ways to go. He died a hero and he will be remembered for centuries." He paused for a moment, picking his next words carefully, knowing that he was about to step on thin ice. "He would be very proud of you. Not only of what you did but of who you are. I know he was like family to you. I'm sorry, Harry."

To his relief, Harry only nodded, mirroring Arthur's reaction from before. "No one will ever take his place, but I couldn't wish for a better headmistress than Professor McGonagall. She's going to be brilliant," Harry smiled faintly.

They stood in silence for a few more minutes as there was simply nothing more to say. When the moment passed, they turned towards the school and started to walk back at a slow, thoughtful pace.

Arthur looked up. The sky was crystal clear. The ground was hard and frozen under their feet. Despite the chill, there was no longer any snow; it had melted the day after the battle.

"What are you going to do now? You and Merlin?" Harry asked suddenly. Arthur snapped his eyes back to the boy.

"We don't know yet for sure. We thought about travelling, seeing the world. Not for long, just a few months I think, a year at most. Then we would return to Great Britain, settle in. I know that Merlin is considering working with dragons. I could return to politics. I heard a rumour that both Fudge and Scrimgeour are going to retire soon. The new Minister of Magic is going to need a helping hand with all the mess they're going to inherit."

Harry's face darkened with concern. "How's Merlin taking it? The loss of magic?"

Arthur frowned, "Not good. It hit him hard. To be honest, I think that taking his magic created a hole in him that he has yet to fill. It doesn't help that we still don't know how the loss of magic affected him; if he's still immortal. We know that he has his Dragonlord powers, so there's such a possibility. He also blames himself for not taking part in the battle."

Harry's brow furrowed as he exclaimed, "But that's ridiculous!"

"Tell that to Merlin." Arthur ran a hand through his blond hair. The movement made him notice the bunch of people standing before the entrance of the school. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody were looming in a corner like a pair of shadows, their gazes grazing the school grounds as if they were expecting a Death Eater to jump them at any time. Ron was talking animatedly with his mum, Hermione and Mr. Weasley listening to the conversation with a strange mix of interest, bafflement and amusement painting their faces. Next to them Lupin was looking at Tonks and Merlin like they were a pair of particularly tiresome children as they laughed their heads off.

The sight made warmth spread in Arthur's chest and his lips bent in a smile. "Merlin is going to be fine. It will take some time, but he'll recover. We all will."

Hearing the fondness in his voice, Harry followed his gaze and grinned as well.

 

*********

 

It was several years later when Merlin, the current PA to the newest blond-haired Minister of Magic, found the first gray hair on his head. He looked at it as if it was something dreadful, before realising what the discovery meant.

Merlin laughed as tears wetted his cheeks with relief.

 

*********

 

**Fin**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this story. It was a great pleasure to write for you and I hope you enjoyed my fic :)


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